


A Picture is a Poem without Words

by Nikoraptor18



Category: Narcos (TV)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, References to Drugs, Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-13 11:54:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 62,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29278047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nikoraptor18/pseuds/Nikoraptor18
Summary: Blix, an FBI agent, gets on the radar of the Cali Cartel where she meets a man who will change her world.
Relationships: Helmer Pacho Herrera/Original Character, Slight Javier Pena/Original Character
Comments: 5
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Notes: Pacho is bisexual in this and his partner from s3 will be in it eventually. I do not think they ever named him, so I gave him a name,  
> The "Italics" are mostly Spanish speaking parts except for the first paragraph- that's just a teaser of the future.  
> TW: A panic attack is described.

_A sharp ringing in her ears, a heavy object pinning her leg down, screams, shouts. This is all that she was aware of as she came too. ‘What happened?’ An explosion. Too close. Her eyes opened and she tried to focus on her surroundings but couldn’t. Everything was blurred, out of focus. A voice was shouting her name and all she could think was, ‘How the hell did I get myself into this mess?....Oh that’s right. A man.’_

Blix had moved to Cali, Colombia about 2 years ago, with her then boyfriend. However, once he decided to show his true colors when he cheated on her in their bedroom, she left him. The problem was, she was all alone in Cali. Anyone she considered to be family was in New York. So, what was an American girl to do? She had her own money already, but it can be difficult to transfer money between countries.

Blix began working at a local bar to earn money, she lived in a small but nice townhouse near the downtown area. She did her best to create a new life and make the best out of shitty situation.

When she wasn’t working at the bar, she was at a local park, drawing. She would draw portraits/landscapes, or caricatures. If the day was nice, she would bring chalk and draw on the sidewalks whatever came to mind. If she didn’t have any requests made during her time out there, she would simply draw whoever was walking around, or would just enjoy the feeling of the sun on her skin, the wind blowing her hair every which way.

Life was quite enjoyable, until one day when she made the mistake of drawing a few guys who were fooling around in the park, and one of them became suspicious of her. A few weeks later, she would meet a man who was nothing but trouble.

It had been a normal day; Blix had done a few fun caricatures of some kids who were playing in the park. She was idly starring around looking for some sort of inspiration before she packed up for the day. She heard them long before she saw them. About 5 guys, who were hooting & hollering, passing a joint between themselves. They talked loudly in Spanish about their latest conquests.

She thought, ‘Why not?’ and began to doodle them acting goofy.

While she was concentrating on the paper, one of the guys noticed her as she worked and glanced over at them multiple times. The man watched her with suspicion and quietly whispered to one of the others, who then took notice of her as well.

Blix finished up the caricatures and bit her lip to stop herself from laughing at what she drew. With a nod of her head at it and she began to pack up her things. As she walked away, she was unaware of the eyes that followed her as she made her way out of the park. She made her way home and changed clothes for work as soon as the supplies were put away.

The job itself was alright, it was fun meeting locals, and getting local gossip. The pay was good, and the tips were better. Blix worked most nights, with the exception of Thursday and Friday (even though she often covered those nights anyway with how few staff there was). Her shift started at 6pm and ended usually at about 3am. It was currently about 5pm and the bar was only a 20-minute walk from her home. 

As Blix got ready for work, across town, trouble was beginning to brew for her.

The five men from earlier that day, strutted into the mansion (or rather one of) of Gilberto Orejuela, and asked to speak with him promptly. Moments later they stood before him and explained their suspicions that a woman may have been gathering information on them at the park.

However, they were all hyped up and talked over one another to the point where, Miguel, Gilberto’s brother, spoke up, “Gentlemen, _calm yourselves_ , and one of you tell us, what exactly you wish to tell us.”

“Don Miguel, there’s a woman who may have been gathering information on us at the park. We asked around and it seems no one really knows who she is other than she there at that park every day and works at a local bar, _Caliente_ ,” Diego informed looking directly at the brothers. “It is suspicious that an American woman, lives alone and spends her time only at 2 locations.”

“An americano you say?” A third man questioned, as he took a drag of his cigarette.

“Yes, Don Pacho,” Marcos confirmed. “Shall we tail her to see who she gets into contact with?”

“Let us discuss this further, in private, and then we shall let you know,” Pacho ordered as he directed them to wait outside the office.

As they stepped outside, Gilberto’s daughter, Marta walked forward, wishing to speak with her father about wedding details. Pacho held one finger up and mouthed, “ _One moment_ ,” before closing the doors again. Marta leaned against the wall next to the doors and could hear parts of the conversation through the wooden double doors.

She heard mentions of an American woman and a local bar, she furrowed her brow as she listened further. She schooled her expression when she heard someone walk toward the door again.

“Tail her, don’t let her onto you,” Pacho instructed the men waiting outside. “Miss Marta, your father is ready to talk to you.” As he swooped his arm back into the office, holding the door wide open for her.

“ _Hello father, do you have time to talk about some wedding details?”_ She asked as a plan formulated in her own mind.

Back with Blix, she began her shift at _Caliente_ , taking over the bar for the owner, Jacque, who tended to work for at least the first hour of its opening. He asked her if she needed anything, and upon her denial, walked toward his office, where he would stay for most of the night.

The night began as it normally does, locals coming in for the first few hours and shooting the breeze. After about 11:30pm, it switched over to more of the younger crowd, and tourists. An hour into making a hundred fruity drinks and tequila shots, she sighed as a lull came in the number of drinks that were being requested.

Her boss stepped out of the office at that point and told her to take her break for the night, that he would take over. She nodded her head and rinsed off her hands, before walking around the counter.

She made her way outside and took a deep breath of relief as the cool air washed over her. She stood there for a moment, before heading across the street to a local vendor, who sold street tacos and burritos, and other portable foods for the drunks of the streets.

“ _Hello Mr. Martinez, how are you doing this evening?”_ Blix asked as she leaned against the counter of his food truck.

“ _Doing just fine little fox. How about you? And do you want your usual?”_ asked Henri Martinez - a man about in his 40s, with prominent laugh lines and a soft voice. 

“ _I’m alright Henri. And yes, my usual please,”_ She responded pulling out cash to pay for it.

“ _Miss Bee! Hi!”_ came the enthusiastic voice of Henri son, Paulo. “ _Look what I have just for you!”_

He lifted a box of soda, Pepsi to be exact, and said, “ _These are all for you and no one else, cause I remember you said you weren’t a big fan of Coca-Cola._ ”

Bix laughed at his enthusiasm and replied astonished, “ _I mentioned that like once, over a year ago? How did you remember that?”_

“ _Because he has a crush on you,”_ Henri mumbled loudly, shaking his head.

Paulo glowered at his father as blush creeped up on his face. Blix decided to save his embarrassment by stating, “ _Well, I thank you for getting these. I know it probably was a bit of a hassle to get.”_ She then leaned over and gave Paulo a small kiss on the cheek, in thanks.

His blush got deeper, and he handed one of the cans of Pepsi before he muttered a soft “ _You’re welcome,”_ before disappearing again.

“ _He’s been waiting all day to show you that. Now, he is forever in love with you, you know that?”_ Henri teased as he cooked.

Blix simply shrugged with a small smile. When she first began working at the bar, she often would simply get food and leave. One night, a couple of guys tried to harass her as she waited, and Henri scared them off with butcher knife. Seeing him and his family wound up becoming the highlight of her nights there and she always felt welcomed with them.

Soon she had her food, steak tacos, and her soda, so she quietly ate and talked with Henri about his day, and what’s currently going on with his family. It was as this went on that a woman, a little bit younger than Blix, walked up with two of her friends. They ordered food and stood nearby as they waited.

One of them looked at her curiously and politely asked, “ _Excuse me, I don’t mean to interrupt. But may I ask where are you from? Your accent is unusual.”_

 _“No, that’s fine. I get asked that a lot. I am from the United States. Georgia to be exact, the Southern accent is hard to get rid of. Hell, I even lived in New York for quite some time and that didn’t get rid of it. May I ask, do I sound silly when I speak, or am I just pronouncing things weirdly?”_ Blix asked back feeling self-conscious about her Spanish.

 _“No! I’m sorry! I just meant. With most Spanish dialects you can tell when a person is from a different country because of how they say certain words. I could just tell, you weren’t Colombian, so I was just trying to figure out where you were from,”_ She responded frantically trying to assure her that her Spanish wasn’t terrible.

She nodded her head, “ _Fair assumption. I’m Blix by the way, and you?”_ She introduced as she held out her hand to shake.

“ _I am Marta, these are my friends Felicity, and Isabelle,”_ She informed her, grasping her hand to firmly shake it.

Blix waved at the other two and they waved back. Blix looked at the time and realized her break was about to be over. “ _Well, I gotta get back to work. When ya’ll are done eating, come across the way and I’ll make ya some damn good drinks,”_ She offered, as she threw her trash away and started to cross the street.

She took control again over the bar and returned to serving drinks. Within 20 minutes she saw Marta and her friends come inside and they order shots, and cosmos. They took a seat at one of the tables near the small dance floor and continued to enjoy their night. Blix tuned out the rest of the evening, working simply on muscle memory, as she made her concoctions and received payments/tips.

It got down to the last hour of the night, and as most of the bar had cleared out, Marta and her friends moved to the bar and chatted with Blix as she began the process of cleaning the dishes.

“ _It’s almost closing time, if there are any last-minute drinks you want, you should probably order them now,”_ Blix recommended as a waitress brought over a tub of dirty glasses, and bottles that needed to be recycled.

Marta smiled and requested, “ _Another round of shots, that you should join us on, and surprise us with a favorite of yours_.”

Blix smiled and said, “ _I’ll do a shot, but it won’t be tequila, we don’t agree with one another.”_

She poured out 3 shots of tequila and a shot of bourbon. They toasted, tapped their glasses to the countertop and downed them in one go. She then began to make one of her favorites, called Shark Bite.

She explained what was in it as she made it and handed them each a glass, and as Marta reached into her purse to pay for the drinks and the shots, Blix stopped her by stating, “ _These were on the house.”_

They all said thank you and finished their drinks with about 15 minutes to spare before closing. They said their goodbyes, made sure their tabs were closed and headed out. Blix finished the dishes, and helped the waitresses clean up the tables, as their boss closed the register. She had her tips separated from the waitresses and after pocketing them, waved goodbye to everyone, and headed home.

Marta came back practically every night for the next two weeks, sometimes with friends, sometimes alone. She was fun to talk to and she loved to talk about her wedding plans- one she said wasn’t going to happen for another 2 years, because of timing. She adored her fiancée and spent much of her time either gushing about him or ranting about her family.

One night, just before she decided to head out for the night, she asked Blix, “Hey, do you have any plans this weekend?”

Blix shook her head before replying, “No I actually have the weekend off, because Jacque is training a new bartender to help me out. Why? What’s up?”

“I was just wondering if you would like to have brunch with me and my family? I need an outside opinion on wedding details,” she asked with smile.

“Sure. When and where?” Blix questioned as she made a Mai Tai for a customer.

“Just be ready about 10am, I’ll have a driver come get you?” She informed her before asking for her address.

Blix quickly scribbled it down onto a napkin and handed it to her with a wave as she began the next order that came in.

Saturday morning rolled around faster than Blix thought it would. She had dressed in simple green sundress that had thin straps and fell around her mid-thigh. She slipped on some black pumps and grabbed her purse when she heard a horn honk outside at around 9:57am.

As she made sure she had everything she needed she stepped outside with the door slightly open, just in case she needed to grab something really quick.

Once she had confirmed she had everything she needed, she closed the door and locked it, before stepping down toward the car.

A man with curly, reddish-brown hair, that was slightly receding stood there holding the car door open. She had an odd feeling about him, as though she knew him but could not quite place it. There was something alarming about his smile, Cheshire-like and toothy.

She shook it off thinking she was just being paranoid and stepped into the car. About 20 minutes later they were pulling into a gated home, that was large and imposing, with small gardens around.

When she stepped inside of the lavish home, it was to a very open living room where Marta sat, with four other men, laughing, and three women standing nearby. As Blix moved further in, her breath caught in her throat, and she had to quickly control herself as she walked over to Marta.

Sitting before her were the Gentlemen of Cali: Gilberto & Miguel Orejuela, Pacho Herrera, and Chepe Santacruz. She gave Marta a hug and Marta introduce her to the four men there, and her mother(s) (?). She smiled and shook hands with the brothers, Chepe gave the back of her hand a kiss and with a small, “ _It is a pleasure to meet you, my dear.”_

Pacho also kissed her hand and murmured a greeting, but as he looked at her if felt like he was staring into her soul. Like he could see her every dark secret.

She nodded her head in greeting and they all took a seat. Food was brought out and Marta pulled out some wedding books and a notepad to write on. As they talked and quietly munched on small sandwiches, Blix could feel them watching her every move and tried not to panic.

Brunch passed by faster than she thought it would, and as Marta left to go get swatches of patterns, she was left alone with these four men, who looked like the cats that caught the canary.

Blix took a small breath, and asked plainly, “You gentlemen clearly know who I really am, may we just cut to chase?”

The man who had escorted her there, dropped a thick manilla folder onto coffee table, that had her name written on it. Gilberto leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and inquired, “So, Agent Blix Lage of the FBI. What exactly brings you to Cali? You have been here for two years, and yet, no one seems to know much about you? We do know that part of your backstory- the cheating boyfriend thing- is a lie. So. Explain to me why I should not be concerned about you?”

“Nothing that has to do with the cartels. I’m FBI not DEA. I don’t know what I’ve done to get onto your radar, but I assure you that unless you’ve stolen valuable art, I have no interest in you,” She admitted with a shrug, her attempt at playing it cool beginning to rattle as her hands shook.

“Our boys here, seem to be under the impression that you were gathering information on them at the park, about 2 weeks ago,” Gilberto continued, gesturing to a group of men by the door.

Blix looked over at them and did not recognize any of them and said as much, “I’m sorry but I really have no clue who they are. It is possible I drew them, but that’s it. I don’t often remember random faces I see in the park. Sorry.”

One of them stepped forward and started to shout at her in Spanish, calling her a lying whore amongst other things. Pacho held a hand up, effectively stopping him in his tracks and signaled for him to step back. The man does so, muttering under his breath angrily as he did.

Pacho looked directly at her and before asking while lighting a cigarette, “Miss Lage, what exactly do you plan to do while in Cali?”

“None of your business _Mr. Herrera_ , my case does not pertain you or anyone else in this room, nor does it pertain to Escobar, or any other cartel that comes around here. Not my jurisdiction. Simpler terms: Not my circus, not my monkeys. Now, unless you have a legitimate concern, I am going to leave now,” Blix firmly stated as she stood up, and began to make her way to the front door.

“Also, do inform your daughter Gilberto, that as much as I enjoyed her company these past few weeks, I think it would be best, she never shows her face around my workplace. And if you’re men ever have a problem with me, maybe I don’t know. Ask me a fucking question. Not assume the worst in a person,” She called over shoulder as she made her way out of the house.

The man from before stepped into her path, blocking her. She looked at him with a grimace and politely asked him to move out of her way. He shook his head and told her she wasn’t going anywhere. She asked again for him to move and he shook his head again.

Blix sighed heavily and then with a vicious smile, threw a punch out and hit him directly in the throat. He choked and grasped at his throat, falling to his knees. With a swift kick of her right leg, she directed it at his face, and knocked him further down.

As he groaned on the floor, she looked at the others, and threatened, “ _Anyone else wanna play winner?_ ”

When no one else moved toward she continued her path, purposely stepping on the man that laid before her, without a care.

As she stepped outside, she walked directly to the gate that the guards refused to open for her. She glared at them, then cracked her neck as she put a foot through the gap first and slowly maneuvered her body through it, with her head turned to face one direction. This was one of the few times she was grateful for being on the skinnier side and with a bit of wiggle and some hair getting caught briefly, she was out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back inside, Pacho and Chepe were chuckling at what they just saw. Gilberto and Miguel looked unimpressed by their men, and their inability to stop one woman. Marta walked back into living room confused for a moment before sudden realization came onto her face.

“ _So, father, is she a threat?”_ She asked returning to her seat.

“ _No, I don’t think so. She may be good ally to have though. If we can convince her that we mean no harm, that is. Chepe I would ask you to take on this task, but we need you back in New York. Pacho. Do you feel comfortable with this?”_ Gilberto requested looking between the two men.

Pacho nodded his head as he took a drag of his cigarette. “ _Should be no problem, Gilberto. From the looks of it, she will be easy to sway,”_ He assured looking down at her file and as he lit his cigarette.

“ _Don’t be too sure of that Pacho. She may give you a run for your money,”_ Miguel warned taking a puff of his cigar.

As Chepe boasted about Pacho’s ability to woo any man or woman, Pacho contemplated Miguel’s words, and had a feeling that he may be correct.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She stalked down the sidewalk going at least 2 blocks away before, she called a taxi. The adrenaline was catching up and she was on the verge of panicking. She directed the cab driver not to her house but to the airport. Her hands shook the entire time, as she paid the cabby for dropping her off 15 minutes later and as she purchased a ticket to Bogota.

She dug into her purse and flashed her FBI badge to security and was swiftly through security and on the last seat of the noon flight to Bogota. Her knee bounced the entire, and she gnawed on her lips as worried and panicked thoughts ran rampant in her head.

Two hours later, she landed in Bogota and swiftly made her way to the American Embassy, fury now built up within, replacing the fear. She made her way to the ambassador’s office, her secretary tried to stop her, but she did not care about niceties currently. She threw the doors open, and she could see Javier Pena, Steve Murphy, and Horacio Carrillo, standing there speaking with the ambassador.

She pushed past them without a care. “Tell me something ambassador. Which one of the pricks of the CIA do I have to stab violently for leaking my dossier?” She asked her hands on her hip as she stood directly in front of her.

“I’m not quite sure I know what you mean, Agent Lage?” the ambassador asked with little confusion.

“Bullshit. Then tell me, how exactly does the Cali Cartel know about me? Seeing as how I was just in the **lovely** home of one Gilberto Orejuela and they appeared to know that my entire backstory, that I have worked for over TWO YEARS TO MAINTAIN was fake,” She angrily explained her voice raising often. “So, tell me, what deal did the CIA get on their knees for to fucking stab me in the back?”

Horacio came up to her and tried to pull her back away from the desk, lowly trying to calm her down.

She shook him off, before continuing since the ambassador had yet to answer her, “Listen, I know, that every other department thinks that me and my team being here is a joke. That we are the least respected because we are a part of the art division. But when your decisions put not only my life in jeopardy, and not just the lives of my team, but threatens to ruin the case I have been working on for the past 2 years, someone had better give me a damn good explanation.”

The ambassador sighed, before she replied, “It was nothing personal against you.”

“Nothing personal eh?” Blix said disgusted, shaking her head.

She turned and stormed back out of her office slamming the doors shut behind her.

Javier sighed and with a turn to the door, stated “I’ll go after her. Stop her from murdering someone.”

Javier made his way into the offices where he caught the ending of a confrontation between Blix and Stechner of the CIA, who she punched him in the face.

Javier ran forward and grabbed her around the waist to pull her away from Stechner before she could do any more damage. She struggled against his hold yelling at him, “JAVIER LET ME GO!”

“ENOUGH! DON’T CAUSE MORE TROUBLE” Javier yelled back as he dragged her away.

He then threw her over his shoulder and carried her to the elevators. She sagged in his hold, furiously muttering and breathing heavy.

Javier didn’t put her down until they were in the parking garage and by his truck. He opened the door and sat her in, hooking the seat belt around her, and the door shut firmly.

He got into the driver’s seat and they took off. He drove down the road a way before stopping at a local café. He told her to stay there, before he stepped out of the truck and walked into the café.

Her anger was fading, and her hand throbbed from hitting Stechner in the face. She tried to take some deep breaths, but it felt like she couldn’t get enough air in. Her eyes were watering, and every sound seemed muffled, and her ears were ringing. She barely noticed Javier return to the truck nor did she notice when he unbuckled her seat belt. But she did notice his arms as they wrapped around her and pulled her into his chest.

The tears were falling freely now, and she buried her face into him and shuddered. She could vaguely hear him shushing her and whisper words meant to soothe her. She couldn’t tell how long had passed, but soon, she felt the tears slowing and the world coming back into focus.

Blix gently pulled away, with a sniffle, rubbing the tears hurriedly off her face. She mumbled an apology, to which Javier gave a small laugh, and replied, “For what? Having a panic attack after spending the morning with the Cali Cartel? I’m an asshole _sweetheart_ but I’m not going to get pissed at you for being legitimately afraid.”

She gave him a small smile in reply, and finally noticed the smell of coffee filtering the cabin. She looked at the dash, and saw 3 to go cups of coffee, and one cup of iced tea.

“Is that for me?” She softly asked pointing at the tea.

He nodded his head, and verified, “And yes. It is a sweet tea. Just like you like it.”

“Sweet tea, or tea that had sugar dumped at the bottom of the cup?” She questioned as she reached for it.

“There’s a difference?” He asked seriously before a smile broke out on his face, as a look of horror appeared on hers.

“As a Texan, you should know better than that,” Blix jokingly admonished as she pulled the cup to her and took a small drink.

“I also got you this, if you’re interested,” He teased as held a small box that had a cinnamon roll perfectly set in it.

“You’re going to make me fat, Javi,” She said with a pout.

“Oh, so you don’t want this then?” He asked pulling the box away. “I guess I’ll just throw it away then.”

She quickly leapt forward and grabbed ahold of the box and shouted, “No!”

She took it from him and held it protectively to her. He chuckled, and then gently asked “You feeling a bit better then?”

She nodded looking down at her lap. “C’mon. Let’s get back to office. I’ll help you check chatter to see if word has spread about you,” He offered, starting the truck back up.

“You would do that? For me? You hate listening to chatter?” Blix asked, eyes wide as she stared at him in shock.

“We’ve hit a dead-end with the Medellin cartel, again. So, may as well help you,” Javier responded nonchalantly, with a half shrug.

His attempt to play it off backfired as Blix leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek.

“You’re a good man Javier Pena, don’t let anyone ever tell you otherwise, not even yourself,” she affirmed as she sat back in her seat, and buckled up.

Javier had a small smile on his face before he cleared his throat and moved the coffees to the middle seat before taking off. They made their way back to the embassy and began the long process of listening to chatter to see whether or not her case had been compromised.

As the day drifted into evening hours, and the office slowly emptied, Blix sighed and stretched to shake off the aches that had built up in her neck and back. Javier pulled off the headphones he had on and rubbed a hand over his face.

They were the only ones left at the office by this point. Steve left hours ago to go have dinner with Connie, and Horacio had to get back to base to train some rookies.

“C’mon. We are not going to hear much else tonight. You can come stay at my place,” Javier offered knowing that Blix did not have a place in Bogota because of how often she was in Cali.

“You sure I won’t cramp your style? I wouldn’t want to disrupt your favorite nightly routine of ‘interrogating the local nightlife,’” She teased slightly as she stood up.

“Contrary to popular belief, I don’t always spend the night in the arms of a strange woman. C’mon now. Where else are you going to go? A hotel, with no change of clothes?” He asked throwing on his jacket.

She shrugged in response and grabbed her bag, followed him out to his truck. His place wasn’t too far from the embassy, just a quick 15-minute drive.

As they stepped into his apartment, he offered to order take-out for the both of them. She hummed in agreement, and they wound up ordering some pizza, one that was called the Carnivore, for its 5 meat toppings. 30 minutes later they were stuffing their faces, as they watched some crime drama, and pointed out the things that were wrong.

Between the 2 of them they had devoured the whole pizza, and Blix kept trying to stifle her yawns. Javier shook his head with a chuckle and got up and walked into his bedroom. He came back out with an old t-shirt and some shorts.

“Here, go change. I’ll take the couch,” he said as he shoved the clothes into her arms.

She nodded and headed into the bathroom to change. Minutes later she stepped out and called over to Javier, “Ya know, we are both adults, we can both share the bed. S’not like it’d be the first time we’ve slept together after all.”

She heard him take a sharp intake of breath before he got up from the couch. She walked with him into his bedroom, and crawled in on one side, and laid down on her back with a pleasant sigh of relief.

“If we are going to share this bed, Imma need you to not make those kinds of noises,” Javier pleaded as he got in on the other side, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers.

She giggled and murmured a quiet apology.

As they both laid there, Blix began to feel a sense of dread as she thought about the next few days.

“Is it stupid… that I’m terrified to go home? Granted today appears to show that nothing is wrong, but I… They know where I live. But I can’t exactly move, because that would raise suspicions. I’m at a loss at what to do, Javi,” Blix confessed in a hushed voice.

“We’ll check chatter again tomorrow, and if nothing seems amiss, we’ll go from there. But if what you said earlier to me was true, than they’ve known where you been for the past 2 weeks and have done nothing.” He turned on his side to look at her as he spoke.

“I don’t want to give you a false sense of hope, but the Cali are not dumb. They are not going to attack an American federal agent. If I could, I would go and be your bodyguard for however long you need me, but I wouldn’t want to give your neighbors a heart attack and let them think you have a boyfriend finally,” Javier calmly soothed her worries and made her chuckle with his teasing.

He pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her; she settled into his arms and turned to face him. “Ya know, if you got over your commitment phobia you would make a very good husband to someone,” she complimented with a yawn, her eyes drifting shut.

He hummed in response and as she fell asleep, whispered to her, “Maybe one day I will for you,” before he too, fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blix makes a deal with the devil.

The next morning, Blix woke up to an empty bed but the smell of coffee drifting through the apartment. She blinked slowly and looked around as she slowly sat up. There was a bag at her feet, that she pulled toward herself. Inside was a pair of dress pants and a pink silk shirt.

She stood up from the bed and grabbed the bag as she walked toward the bathroom. She got dressed in the clothes and snorted upon realizing that they fit her almost perfectly.

She got ready as best as she could, given the lack of her usual toiletries. She walked out running a hand through her hair to brush out the knots. She ambled into the kitchen to see Javier at his kitchen table with two cups of coffee. He slid one toward her and she realized it was not black like his but had creamer and sugar added to it.

“You know how I take my coffee?” She asked curiously as she took a sip to confirm the sugary sweetness of it.

“We’ve worked together for 2 years, _gorgeous_. Yes, I am well aware of the sugary concoction you like to drink,” He informed his face twisting into slight disgust at the thought of it.

“Uh huh. Don’t give me that look sir, my coffee choices are just fine,” She replied taking a seat, and another drink. “Also, please tell me, that you checked my clothes for my sizes and not that you took a guess?”

“Yeah, I checked. I thought about asking Connie if she would be chill lending you some clothes, but I realized that you might also have to return to Cali this afternoon, so you would have to send them back somehow,” He answered as he finished off his coffee. “C’mon you, hurry up, so we can go check chatter and soothe some of your worries.”

She nodded her head and put her shoes on from yesterday and threw her dress into the shopping bag she now had. They went to work and as noon rolled around, with no sign that her case had been compromised, she sighed heavily, relieved.

“Well. Guess I can return home then. Hopefully, I won’t have a gang of _sicarios_ waiting for me. Thank you for doing this,” Blix said gratefully to Javier and Steve who joined them in the search.

They nodded in response and Steve asked, “Heading back to Cali after this?” At her nod he continued, “Well, next time you’re this way, Connie wants to do a girl’s day, if you’re interested?”

“I’d like that a lot actually. Tell her I will call her with dates,” Blix replied with a smile.

Steve nodded his head, and returned to his desk, stretching as he went. Javier looked at her and asked, “Do you want me to give you a lift to the airport?”

Blix shook her and said, “No. I will be fine getting there on my own. I’m just not ready for what may be waiting for me.”

Javier nodded once and offered, “Well. My door is always open for you if you ever need a place to lay low. Just let me know what I can do.”

She smiled in response and grabbed her things before exiting the building. As she stood outside, Horacio pulled up in his SUV, and told her to “Get in.”

She raised an eyebrow and did as he requested, shaking her head at him. She gets in, and for the entire drive there he is quiet. He parked outside the airport and quietly spoke, “ _Listen, lil one, you let me know, the second you feel you are in danger, alright? Here, I want you to keep this on you.”_

He then handed her a folded knife, with a black and gold handle; the blade she noted as she opened was also black in color, and slightly serrated.

“ _Use it when you have to. No hesitation. Its faster than pulling out a gun. Stay safe, lovely. By the way, my kids wanted me to give you these, and wondered when their unofficial godmother was going to come see them?”_ He informed her as he reached into the back and pulled out some artwork made of fruit loops and beans, and a beaded necklace that said Aunt Bee.

She smiled at the little tokens that his kids sent to her. “Ah. I see I have more beautiful artwork to adorn my fridge and new jewelry. Tell them I said thanks, and that I will come see them next time I’m here and we will spend the day together. I miss them,” She answered with a small, but sad, smile.

“Listen, I know that it can be difficult with the others. They underestimate you and your team. Hell, I will admit that I did too way back when. But you continue to prove everyone wrong. Keep moving forward _my dear_ , nothing can stop you. Not the CIA, not the ambassador, not even the Cali Cartel. You have people in your corner, never forget that,” He encouraged, pinching her cheeks to make her laugh.

She gave him a smile, and a one-armed hug, before she exited the car, and made her way through the airport. Before long, she was back in Cali, and back in her home. She looked around and checked every door and window to check that they were locked and secured shut.

She reheated some leftovers from the other day and tried not to freak out at every noise she heard outside her home. That night as she went to bed, she pulled out her service weapon from its lock box in her closet and slept with it safely tucked under her pillow.

She slept fitfully that night and woke up feeling exhausted the next day. She tried to get in a few extra hours of sleep but wound up starring at the ceiling with dread.

When she finally decided to get up it was close to 11am and as she took note of how bare her kitchen was, she decided to write out a grocery list and try to get back some sort of normalcy to her life.

However, as she stepped out of her home a few minutes later, dressed, with her bag on a shoulder, and list in hand, she quickly realized that normal was never going to happen. She paused in shock and maybe some mild horror as she realized that Pacho Herrera was waiting for her, leaning against his motorcycle.

She starred at him for a moment, her mouth gaping. She heard from her right, her neighbor walking out, to tend to her garden.

“ _Hello dear, how are you?”_ She heard Mrs. Garcia ask before she gasped, “ _Oh? Is this your new boyfriend sweetie? He is very handsome._ _It’s so nice to see you getting back out there.”_

Blix smiled awkwardly, and did not respond, for she knew that her elderly neighbor, would not believe her denials.

She stepped forward slowly, and once she stood before him, asked lowly, “ _What are you doing here?”_

 _“I wished to apologize for the other day by taking you to lunch, if that is alright?”_ He politely asked with smirk, waving hello to her neighbor.

 _“No. I have to get groceries. So, thanks, but no thanks,”_ She responded back attempting to turn and walk away.

He grabbed her by the waist to stop her in her tracks and pulled her into him. She grunted at the impact and was overwhelmed briefly by the smell of his expensive cologne and equally expensive leather jacket. She looked up at him and gave a small gulp at the intensity of his stare. He gently brushed a lock of her hair out of her face, his other hand gently grasping hers, his thumb brushing over her knuckles.

“ _I’ll have my men take care of your groceries. Please, allow me to make up for our rudeness the other day. I promise, I mean you no harm,”_ He promised with a small but real smile, as he brought her hand up to press a kiss to it.

She found herself nodding her head a moment later, and as he released her, she took a deep breath to calm her nerves. He straddled his motorcycle and offered his hand out to her for her to take. She was vaguely aware of Mrs. Garcia swooning on her porch, and as a blush crept up on her face, she took his hand into hers.

He gently helped placed that hand around his waist, as she swung her leg over the bike. She quietly asked, “Where should I put my feet?”

He quickly directed her feet to the best places to rest and as she wrapped her arms around him, he started the motorcycle, and they were off.

They made their way into the downtown area and stopped in front of a very fancy five-star restaurant and hotel. She looked at him and then at her clothes once they had dismounted the bike.

He raised an eyebrow at her and she asked, “I don’t think I’m quite dressed to the standards of this place?”

She had put on some shorts and an off the shoulder top that gently flared out at the bottom, with a pair of flats.

He smiled and gave a small chuckle, before he assured, “If anyone says anything to you, they will answer to me. C’mon. Do not worry.”

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and led them inside. The host at the restaurant did look at her attire with mild distaste but did not say anything, as he escorted them to their table, which was next to the window, and allowed them to enjoy the view.

She draped her bag over the back of the chair as he shrugged off his jacket and showed off the long-sleeved blue silk button-up he wore.

‘How does he always look like he just walked off a runway?’ She thought as she took the menu that was being presented to her.

The waitress asked them what they wanted to drink, and Blix simply said, “Bourbon. Neat.”

Pacho ordered a strawberry daiquiri and as soon as the waitress left, Blix opened up the menu and raised an eyebrow at the prices of the meals.

She looked back up at him and said slowly, “You.. you do realize.. I’m a federal agent, right? I don’t make that much money to warrant buying a $45 salad.”

He smiled and said, “Lunch is on me, _sweetheart_. Do not worry about the prices.”

She raised an eyebrow at him and looked at him like he was crazy. His response was simply to take a glance at his menu before closing it again.

She sighed and looked at the menu and tried to find something that was reasonably priced and sounded appetizing. She found a burger that sounded decent and decided to go with that. They placed their orders a minute later when their drinks came out.

As she took a sip of her bourbon, Pacho commented, “Did not expect you to be a bourbon drinker. I figured you to be more of a fruity drinker.”

She smirked, “I could say the vice versa of you, Mr. Herrera.”

“Touché, my dear. I only drink whiskey when I need to think. Daiquiris are more for pleasure than business,” He informed her with a sip.

“Interesting. Almost expected you to say because you liked how colorful they are, and you like to make people feel uncomfortable with how comfortable you are in your sexuality?” She quipped back, with an eyebrow raised.

“That too,” He revealed as he looked her up and down. “Though many always seem surprise when I show interest in a woman.”

She snorted, “That’s because its considered “normal” Pacho. Heteronormativity is a social construct created by insecure men. Just like a woman’s virginity and how it’s pure and holy-like but sleep with a man outside of wedlock- oof. Straight to Hell you go. So, I guess we will see each other quite often in that respect.”

He blinked in surprise before stating, “Cheers to that, Miss Lage.”

He raised his glass up to her and she picked hers up to clink against it before they both took a drink.

“Word to the wise though. Don’t ever mention your sexuality to my neighbor that you saw before. She will try to talk you into drinking a “cure.” A special root tea that she read about in a magazine, “She warned rolling her eyes.

“I feel like there’s a story to that?” He inquired, as he placed an elbow on to the table and rested his head against his hand.

“In my 2 years here, she has yet to see me bring home a man. Whether it be a date, or whatever. So, she came to me one day, concerned. Because she was worried that I had “unnatural” thoughts about women, and then she shoved a cup of this foul-smelling tea into my hands and said it would fix me,” She said with a grimace. “I had to explain to her that I just worked a lot and dating wasn’t in the cards currently. She backed off after that, but she often feels the need to me about her family members who are single.”

He closed his eyes and shook his head, face scrunching up at the thought. He then looked at her and with a smirk growing on his face, he teased, “And do you? Have “unnatural” thoughts about women?”

She chuckled, shaking her head. “No. Unless being secure in admitting a woman looks far prettier than me counts?” She questioned with a shrug.

“I don’t think so,” He answered, smiling. “So, may I ask a personal question?”

She sighed loudly before hesitantly responding, “Sure.”

“Have you really been alone for 2 years? Surely there had to be someone who piqued your interest even if it was for just one night?” He asked as he ate the pulled off the strawberry that garnished his drink and ate it.

“Dating? Nope. Most men tend not to think a woman with facial scars as pretty enough to date,” She replied, pointing to the scar that ran down the length of her face, and the one under her chin. “Beyond that, yes, I have had some one-night stands, possibly with a fellow government agent but that was a while ago. Haven’t really felt the need to go out and be disappointed by the opposite sex.”

He looked at her closely when she pointed at her scars and noted, “Any man who cannot see that you are warrior and have survived quite a bit, clearly didn’t deserve you then.”

She gave a small half smile and looked away, not used to someone complimenting her like that.

“And a fellow agent eh? Wouldn’t happen to be one Javier Pena of the DEA would it? Then again, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was Colonel Horacio Carrillo, you two seemed awfully close as well,” He goaded as their food was placed in front of them finally.

Her eyes narrowed at him in fury and she waited until the waitress had left, after making sure Pacho’s steak was cooked to his liking, to unleash it.

“Fuck you Pacho. Did you have me followed? Or was this the CIA once again selling me out because they don’t fucking respect me?” Blix seethed as she stood up to leave, gathering her things.

“For the record, Horacio is a friend, and I respect and care for him deeply, like family. Don’t ever disrespect me or him by suggesting that I am having an affair with him. Enjoy your meal,” She spoke lowly, eyes glaring at him.

She turned and walked away, rage burning within her. She got to the entrance of the restaurant when she felt someone grab her arm. She twisted her head to yell when she saw that it was Pacho. She opened her mouth to tell him to let go, but before she could he dragged her away from the restaurant, and into the elevators of the hotel.

He tossed her in and hit the top floor button. She tried to rush back out before the doors closed, but he grabbed her around the waist and pinned her to the wall.

She glared up at him and struggled to free an arm to throw a punch at him. Pacho simply pinned her arms down and commanded for her to stop.

“ _Enough!”_ He shouted, as he leaned against her attempting to cease her movements.

She flinched at the volume of his voice, and slowly did as he wanted. She looked away from him, glaring at the walls, breathing heavily.

The elevator dinged as they finally reached their destination, and as the doors opened, he gently stepped back from her.

She glowered at him and as she straightened up, he grabbed her elbow and led out onto the floor, and into the penthouse suite. He directed her to the couch where, on the coffee table laid the pages of her file.

“The funny thing about your file, Miss Lage, is that even the CIA with all of its know-how, for whatever reason, could not track you from the time you were 15 to when you turned 19. No mentions of how you wound up in New York. It’s a long way away from Georgia. Nor does it explain… why you left Georgia?” He inquired as he took the seat next to her and pulling up several pages as he spoke.

“My childhood, or rather lack thereof, is none of your business,” She whispered, her voice cracking.

He hummed in response, before he stated, “True. I didn’t think you would come right out and tell me, but I was curious as to what your reaction would be like.”

She said nothing at this and stared at the offending sheets of paper before her.

“My plan was to charm you and woo you, but you seem a bit impervious to it,” He began to explain.

“So, onto plan B. I brought you up here to show that I know your every weakness. I know about your relationship with Javier Pena. I know your familial love for the colonel and his family. Your protectiveness of the family that works outside your bar. And of course, the family you created in New York. The MMA fighters? Though I’m surprised you have yet to use your moves on me. Why is that?” He questioned, as he pulled out photo after photo of each person she cared about.

“It’s a no-win situation,” She explained after gulping. “I kill or harm you, the Cali cartel comes after me and everyone I love. Why would I risk their lives just for that? Hate to break your heart, but you’re not worth the chaos that would follow.”

“I’m sure I will survive such pain,” He replied dryly. “Now then, onto the business portion of this lunch. We will not harm a hair on those you love most, if when the opportunity presents itself, you help us.”

“Help you? How? Again, I’m not DEA, nor am I CIA, I don’t have that kind of pull,” She said panic rising in her voice.

“But you do have some pull. We just need you to be our eyes and ears when it comes to any trouble heading our way. Plus. Miguel and Gilberto do not expect to do this forever, they have plans beyond cocaine, and they’ll need someone to voice their demands, when that time comes. We want you to be that voice,” He offered, as he took her hands into his and gently rubbed his thumb along the top of it.

She sighed heavily, starring at their hands, thoughts racing as she tried to figure out a possible loophole in this deal. She couldn’t find one. Or maybe it was the panic clouding her ability to think rationally? She wasn’t sure which, she just knew that her hodge podge family was in danger.

“If I say yes, you swear that you won’t hurt anyone?” She asked as confirmation, as she looked him directly in the eyes.

“I swear to you, that we will not hurt anyone, so long as you do as we command,” He firmly replied.

“Why did you bring me here for this? Why… why didn’t you just bring this up when I was at Gilberto’s house?” Blix questioned.

“As I said, the others thought you would be more open to me. That I might charm you into helping us. It doesn’t hurt that I do find you to be quite beautiful,” Pacho complimented as his eyes roved over her.

She scoffed and muttered a quiet, “Sure.”

She then pulled away from him and stood up to walk over to the windows. She crossed her arms and admired the view of the city that laid before her.

“You are not used to a man giving you a genuine compliment are you, _sweetheart_?” He lightly asked as he came up behind her.

He gently leaned forward and rested his chin on her shoulder and then posed, “This arrangement doesn’t have to be terrible. I would very much enjoy having you as my date to parties and such. Shower you in compliments and gifts. Keep you warm at night.”

“I’m not one for parties to be honest. I only like compliments if they are sincere, and I don’t need nor want gifts. I’m not so easy that my love and affection can be bought. And its Colombia, Pacho, it stays unbearably warm at all hours,” She countered, raising an eyebrow at him.

He chuckled at her and said, “I do quite like a challenge. Okay. Be my arm candy, and allow me to take you on actual dates, where I shall sprinkle in a sincere compliment or 2. Gifts will not be excessive in number. I’m sure I can find many ways to keep you cool at night if need be.”

She bit back a smile and cleared her throat trying to maintain the giggle that tried to break free.

“I can work with that I suppose. And to answer your question, no. Most men tend to blanche at my scars, and then run for the hills when they find out I’m a federal agent. Or worse. Want me to use the handcuffs,” She responded back, her nose crinkling at the memories of her previous dates.

“Then those men were not worth your time. They were weak and cowards. Clearly intimidated by a powerful woman,” He flattered, as he gently ran a finger down the side of her face. “Though… they may have the right idea about the handcuffs, I must say.”

She gave a small smile and looked down, before Pacho gently turned her head to look at him.

“So, we have a deal Miss Lage?” He quietly asked, and at her nod continued, “Good, now, I really did wish to have lunch with you, but I feel like I have unloaded a lot onto your lap. May I take you home? My men should have returned with groceries for your home.”

“No. I think a walk would be better to be honest. Plus, I… I need to be alone. Um. I assume you have my numbers, so I am going to go,” Blix said suddenly nervous the reality of what she has agreed to setting in.

She pulled away and made her way back out to the elevator. She clutched the strap of her bag tightly, to the point her knuckles turned white.

She made her way out of the building and strolled back to her home in a numb state. She was going over that entire interaction in her mind and overanalyzed every bit of it. She’s not sure when or even how she got home but when she did, she sat on her couch, starring off at nothing. She was aware that it had been a few hours though.

“Am I so desperate for attention that I accepted a deal with the devil? Though, maybe I can use him to my advantage as well. What better way to find criminals, than to hang out with criminals? Sure. Keep telling yourself that Blix. Maybe you’ll eventually believe it too.” She mumbled to herself.

True to his word, her kitchen had been stuffed to the brim with food, she discovered an hour later after chastising herself thoroughly. She looked at everything with mild distaste and then decided she was just going to order her weight in Chinese food for dinner. She called it in and about 40 minutes later she is stuffing her face with no cares as to how she looked.

* _Ring, Ring_ *

She glared at her phone and ignored, choosing to continue eating instead. She didn’t have the attention span to use chopsticks and was shoveling food in with a fork.

* _Ring, Ring_ *

It went off again and she sighed loudly annoyed. She reached over and answered it with a tired, “Hello?”

“ _Hello beautiful_ , been trying to get ahold of you all day to check on you. You okay?” Came the voice of one Javier Pena.

She sighed in relief at his voice, and assured, “Yes, Javi, I am okay. I …”

She didn’t know if she should tell him what happened today.

“What happened? C’mon. Talk to me. I’m at home, and no one is here if that makes you feel better?” He gently persuaded.

She bit her lip, trying to decide whether this was good idea or not. She knew she needed to tell someone though and slowly unloaded everything unto him. She just knew that he would understand and wouldn’t judge harshly. Once she finished, he was silent, which made her grow nervous.

“He didn’t hurt you correct?” He asked after a moment.

“No. He… made me nervous at times, but that’s it. Why?” She inquired.

‘Nervous cause an attractive and dangerous man showed interest in me, but nervous nonetheless.’ She thought briefly.

“Cause if he had hurt you, I would have killed him. To hell with the Medellin and Escobar, if he had laid a hand on you, I would throw everything away to get him,” He informed simply.

She didn’t quite know what to say to that; she was a bit stunned by his declaration.

“Javi. That’s.. that’s very sweet of you to say but I don’t think violence is the answer to my problems right now. Even though I was highly tempted to punch him in the face when he casually implied that me and Horacio were together intimately,” She seethed softly, as she stabbed at her food.

She could hear him laugh softly before he sighed and said, “Listen, I don’t know what to tell you. Or how you should play this, cause this is up to you. This is your decision. I can try and help you as often as I can, but my hands are tied here. I agree that it might be your best shot at figuring out where your missing priceless art went to, but..”

“But what? Go ahead and say it, I am sure I’ve thought of it and chastised myself for it,” She pushed, straightening up in her seat.

“However, if you are about to bring up what happened to us, I don’t need to hear it. We were together for months, forgive me for thinking you wanted more than just sex,” She rambled before stopping herself. “I just… I don’t know what else to do here. If I don’t start showing some sort of progress on this case, the plug is getting pulled.”

“I was just going to say, that you get attached very easily. I don’t want you to get into a position where you have to choose between him or your career. Do what you have to do but please be careful,” He clarified before giving his small plea.

“Okay. I’ll try. I can’t make any promises though,” She quietly responded.

“As for the other thing, it was never my intention to hurt you, I want you to know that. I’m an asshole, underserving of love and anything kind,” He said with guilt in his tone.

“Yeah. You are an asshole. Doesn’t mean you are undeserving,” She agreed as she began to clean up her mess and put the leftovers away. “Thanks for listening to me and not.. judging or calling me crazy.”

“I mean you are _crazy,_ but this is no different to what I do with my informants,” He teased lightly.

“Thanks for checking on me as well, have a nice night” She casually said as she prepared to hang up.

He muttered a ‘you’re welcome’ and a ‘bye’ before she heard the dial tone.

She blinked at the abruptness before she hung up as well. She looked around her small home, her eyes landing on the pile of cases that she had in her office. All suspects, or similar crimes that she was trying to connect the dots to.

She bit her lip and looked at the time. 6:59pm.

She grabbed her keys and threw her flip flops on. She knew this was a stupid idea, but she needed to try it at least. She hailed a taxi and made her way back to the hotel that Pacho brought her to earlier. Soon enough she was standing before the penthouse door once again and she forced herself to knock on it.

A moment passed, and the door opened, revealing Pacho, in a bathrobe, his hair wet.

“I’m sorry to interrupt your evening plans, but we need to talk about this arrangement. I would like to make some addendums to it if I may?” She politely requested.

He raised an eyebrow at her and opened the door wider for her to enter. She stepped inside and took a few steps in, before turning back to him.

“Are you uh.. entertaining anyone currently?” She asked hesitantly, trying not to stare at his current state of undress for too long.

“ _Just you, my dear,”_ He answered with a small smirk as he reached to grab a fallen towel to dry his hair with.

“Okay. I’m not going to ask you perform miracles for me or jump through flaming hoops. I’ve had time to think on this arrangement,” She began clearing her throat.

“If you want my help, you have to give me something in return. I need information on art thieves in the area. I need to know names, addresses, what they are selling/stealing. Any information you can get me. I will do whatever you want within reason. Help me with my cases where you can, and I’ll help you. How does that sound?” She proposed, trying to ignore the fact that he was moving closer and closer to her.

“ _I’m sure we can accommodate such an arrangement. Anything else you would like to add?”_ He asked as he pulled her closer to him, after he tossed the towel to the floor.

“Don’t interfere with my work. If I am at the park and I happen to be drawing, and it’s of your men, I don’t want to deal with Marta or anyone else spying on me or otherwise dragging me to one of yall’s places just becau-“ She trailed off as she felt him lean down to press kisses to her neck.

“Go on,” He murmured into her neck, pausing in his kissing for a moment before he resumed.

She couldn’t quite form a thought anymore. She blinked rapidly and sighed softly at his ministrations. She pushed his him away from her neck and tried to finish her demands, but she found herself staring into his eyes. She glanced at his lips, which were curled into a smirk. She was acutely aware of his hands; one cupped her face and the other rested on her hip firmly grasping it.

“Fuck it. We’ll talk in the morning,” She said distractedly as she stood up on her tip toes to press her lips to his.

She could feel him smile against her lips and as his hands buried into her hair, hers hidden within the folds of his robe.

“ _Jump,”_ He commanded, pulling away slightly.

She did so, legs wrapped around his waist as his arms secured her to him. He resumed their kiss as he carried her off to into his bedroom and laid her down with him on top.

Would Blix regret this in the morning? Possibly. But she also knew it’s been well over a year since she’s had sex, and she beyond caring who it was with. A handsome man was attracted to her, and didn’t find her ugly because of her scars? That was a rarity for her.

As much as she liked Javier, he didn’t tend to have high standards when it came to women- consensual and decent looking tended to be his bare minimal requirements. She knew that with him, she was no one special, not really. She was going to enjoy whatever Pacho was willing to give her.

They spent the rest of the night in each other’s arms, exploring one another’s bodies. She would deal with the consequences of her actions in the morning, for now, she was going to see if he was indeed able to keep her cool.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Background to main plot is revealed. Art thievery and forgeries.

The next morning Blix woke up lying on her stomach, her face buried into a very soft pillow. She became aware of slight tickling situation. It took her a second to realize it was a hand, the fingers tracing over her various scars.

“ _That tickles, handsome,”_ She whispered as she blearily opened her eyes, as she turned toward him.

She reached for the sheets and pulled it up to cover her naked chest as the chill of the room hit her. She looked him over as he rested his hand onto her hip and watched his eyes roam over her skin, pausing at various scars.

“ _Surely, not all of these are from work, are they gorgeous?”_ He asked with a frown.

“ _No. Not all of them are from work. Many are from my traumatic childhood that I am not quite ready to divulge,”_ She explained quietly as she tried not to think too heavily on the memories that tried to creep to the forefront of her mind.

He nodded once and said, “ _I can understand that. Maybe one day I’ll share my past with you as well.”_

She smiled softly and stretched, wincing when she felt the aches and pains from last night make their appearance.

“Last night really happened eh? Guess I wasn’t that hard to get after all?” She conceded as she shifted onto her back.

“I wouldn’t say that. Most women tend to become putty within 5 minutes of meeting me. You made me chase after you and work for it,” He commented as he dragged her closer to him. “It was a bit exhausting.”

“Oh yes. How terrible it must be to have women and men alike fall for you at the drop of a hat, Pacho. What a horrid life you lead,” She teased him as she pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“Truly. It’s awful. Can’t have a moment to myself at all,” He joked as well, with a chuckle.

They fell into a comfortable silence, and she almost fell back to sleep when she suddenly heard the sounds of rain pattering against the windows.

“Lovely. That will be fun returning home in,” She said with a sigh.

“ _Gilberto and Miguel will be here in an hour. They wish to talk out the details and finalize the deal. So, the storm may have passed by then,”_ Pacho replied as he sat up. “ _I had my men buy you a change of clothes, we should probably shower.”_

Blix nodded her head and sat up as well. Her shoulder gave a twinge of pain at the change of pressure and she rotated her arm a bit to work out the kink. He glanced over at her as she quietly groaned as it continued to cause her pain.

He motioned for her to follow him and as she does, he leads her into the bathroom. He turned on the shower and allowed the temperature to heat up before stepping in, pulling her in with him. They washed their hair quickly, and as he gathered body wash into his hands, he gently began to massage it on her shoulders. He found a couple of knots and softly worked them out. She couldn’t help the moan of content as he worked out a particularly large knot. Once her shoulders had fully relaxed, they finished up their showers and stepped out. She dressed in the clothes that was provided, a camisole and some jeans, and new underwear/bra.

Once they were dressed, a light lunch was ordered for them both, and as they ate, Gilberto and Miguel appeared. They walked in and sat across from them in the living room.

She took a couple more bites of her sandwich, surveying both men before her. She finished it and took the initiative to start the conversation.

“So, shall we begin with your demands, or mine?” She asked with a raised eyebrow and glancing between the two.

“ _Please, tell us what you wish from us first and we shall see if we can work with them. Pacho told us some of it, but believed there were others?”_ Gilberto inquired leaning forward; elbows propped on his knees.

“ _I need assurances from the both of you that your men, will not interfere with my work. That means no dragging me to your places. No Marta or any other child of yours, to spy on me at work, as the first condition,”_ She began.

“ _Second, I am trying to gather info on art thieves, and various other crimes. I need to know who is moving what. What is on the market. That sort of thing. My bosses think that there are criminals selling art on the black market to fuel communism,”_ She continued with an eye roll at the last part. “ _I believe there’s something bigger going on. I just need proof of it.”_

“ _I do not mind creating a deal for you with the government. Does it make my skin crawl to be even considering this nonsense? Yes. But you are far better than Escobar and his men who are absolute freaks,”_ She concluded taking a sip of her iced tea.

They both chuckled a bit at her and Gilberto conceded, “ _Those are acceptable conditions my dear. As Pacho told you previously, we do not wish to be in the cocaine business forever. We know that it’s only a matter of time before Escobar and his cartel are taken down. We want to be at the top, for a time, and do the bare minimum of prison time, before continuing our life.”_

 _“Does everyone, aka all four of you, agree to this?”_ She confirmed with the three of them.

“ _Yes, and Chepe is aware of the plan as well and agrees as well,”_ Pacho verified as he lit up a cigarette.

There was something in the way he spoke and refused to make eye contact that made her somewhat doubt that. She, however, was not going to push the subject, just in case she was wrong.

“ _Okay. We can iron out full details in the future. This is all predicated on the idea that the Medellin Cartel will be gone, and as of right now, that is not the case. So, write down everything you want, and when the time comes, I will do what I can,”_ She assured with a nod. “ _Shall we shake on it?”_

She held her hand out to them, to seal the deal. They nodded and Gilberto shook her hand firmly. As she moved to shake Miguel’s he held her hand and threatened lightly, _“Remember Miss Lage, this also means that you do not rat on us. It would be such a shame, to see such a pretty face die because you didn’t respect us or show us loyalty.”_

She cleared her throat, shoving the panic that tried to appear back down and shook his hand once.

 _“Now then, we have business to attend to. Pacho? We shall see you this afternoon, yes?”_ Miguel asked his tone doing a 180° as he spoke to him.

Pacho nodded and showed them out. Blix stood up and dusted herself off. Once they had left, Pacho walked back over to her.

 _“I will take you home now, and then in a few days, I was thinking about coming around and maybe we can chit chat over any information we find?”_ Pacho suggested as he stood before her.

 _“Sounds good to me. You do have something other than your motorcycle, right?”_ She inquired as the sound of the rain grew louder and harsher.

He chuckled lowly and nodded his head in response. She grabbed her things, and he handed her a jacket, that was slightly too big. As she put it on, she realized it was one of his, as it smelled just like him. She smiled to herself for a moment and then followed him out. He led her downstairs to the parking garage of the hotel, where a red thunderbird waited for us.

She snorted loudly as she looked at it, causing Pacho to look over at her and raise an eyebrow.

“A Thunderbird? Really? Really nailing that ‘bad boy” persona eh?” She teased as he opened the door for her.

“Hm. But you like that persona, no?” He hummed back pressing a kiss to her lips, as she stepped into the car.

She just shook her and buckled in as he got in on the driver’s side. The drive to her home took a few minutes longer due to the blinding sheets of rain, but when they arrived, she told him goodbye and ran inside, unlocking her door as fast as possible.

She closed the door behind her, and shook off the raindrops, as she took off the jacket and her shoes. She set her things down on the table by the door before heading over to her answering machine to check for any messages.

No messages played. She sighed in relief and then called Jacque at the bar, to see if he wanted her to come in tonight due to the heavy rains. He told her to not bother and enjoy her night off, since the rain was meant to last well into the night, meaning hardly anyone would be coming in.

She made her way into her office and looked over files. She looked over at her crime board, aka the entire left wall of her office. She read over some case files, trying to make more connections, and fill in more blanks.

Shipments of art meant for the _Museo Nacional de Colombia_ in Bogota, _Antioqua Museum_ in Medellin, and _Museum of Colonial Art and Religious la Merced_ in Cali, have gone missing. However, the biggest concern was the heist done at the _Gold Museum_ in Bogota. 20 crates full of gold artifacts, all valued at hundreds of millions of dollars, missing. There were rumors that there were buyers located in Medellin, but the sellers were hiding out somewhere in Cali for the time being.

Every time they got close to figuring out who was selling them, and where they may have hidden the art, they disappear. Blix suspected that there was a high possibility that there was spy amidst her team. 

She spent the next couples of hours going over her stack of files, noting details of each one that she found somewhat important. It wasn’t until there was a large crack of thunder that she looked up from her work. She glanced over at the clock and noted it was after 6pm. She stretched, before going into the kitchen to make herself something to eat. Her dinner consisted of some chicken and pasta drizzled with alfredo sauce.

She quietly ate and put away the leftovers before going back to work for a couple more hours. It wasn’t until about 11pm before she stopped for the night and went upstairs to change, sliding under her covers as soon as she was in comfortable clothing.

The next morning, she woke up and as she stepped out to pick up the newspaper, she noticed a yellow manilla folder peeking out of her mailbox. She pulled it out, looking around suspiciously. She slipped back inside, tossing the newspaper onto her coffee table. She flipped it over and saw the words “For your eyes only” in Spanish.

She walked into her kitchen and stepped up to her kitchen island; opening it after getting settled onto one of the seats.

She shook out the contents of the envelope, and out came a handwritten note along with a stack of photos.

“ _It appears you have spy in your midst, lovely. Do not trust this person with any more information. I look forward to speaking with you in greater detail, in a few days. -Pacho”_

She looked at the photos and saw that it was the one person she didn’t personally hire. It was someone that the ambassador had recommended and that her boss forced her to hire because of his political ties. He was the son of one of the senators here in Colombia, and stated he had an interest in law enforcement.

She glowered at the images before her and had to take a deep breath to calm herself down. On the back of one of the images there was a name written down: Augustus König. She looked at the name with wide eyes. She leaned over and grabbed her satellite phone. She dialed the one person she knew on her team that wouldn’t betray her.

“Hello?” A male voice came through after the phone rang twice.

“Theo. I have a lead but I need for this to stay between us,” She began. “Look up the name: Augustus König. Don’t let Marcos aware of what you are doing.”

“Do you think he’s the one spewing intel on our missions? And how do I spell that?” He asked lowly.

“Yes. In fact, I’m quite sure of it. Let’s just say, I have new CI and let’s keep it at that,” She explained vaguely before spelling out the name for him.

“Alright. I’ll let you know what I find and fax it over to you,” He assured as soon as he got the info he needed.

“Thank you. Hopefully, this is the break we need,” She said with a sigh.

“I know, right? I’ll get back to ya boss asap,” He replied with a small laugh.

She hung up and looked at the photos once more and got annoyed all over again.

She made another phone call and as soon as the phone connected, she started, “Horacio. Need a favor.”

“ _Hello, Blix. I am well, how about you?”_ He answered back in a mocking tone.

“ _Sorry. Hi, Horacio. I really need a favor,”_ She amended with a slight eye roll.

“What’s up?” Horacio asked.

“Do you know Diego Marcos?” She questioned.

“Yes. The senator’s son that’s on your team, correct?” He confirmed after a moment.

“I need for you to investigate him. I have reason to believe that he’s leaking intel on us,” She requested.

He hummed, “He has taken a recent interest in the DEA as well and has been loitering around the office randomly. Explains why a recent mission to find La Quica went to hell.”

She shook her head at that. “I don’t trust him. I didn’t even want him on my team but the powers that be said I had to take him. But… if we gather enough evidence to prove that he’s not on our side, then we can get rid of him.”

“Let me see what I can do, _little fox_ ,” Horacio replied, determination in his voice. “Anything else? And how is your Cali situation going?”

“Thanks. It’s settled for the most part. Had to make a deal with the devil but at the very least, I don’t have to worry about dying anytime soon,” She informed him with some bitterness in her tone.

“I hope you know what you are doing. Stay safe. I’ll keep you updated,” He stated before he hung up.

She sat her phone down and studied the photos some more, examining each one. She gets to the last two and paused, blinking rapidly. They were photos of both Miguel Gallardo and Pablo Escobar, meeting with König, paintings in the background; paintings that she knew very well. She had been staring at photos of them for hours just last night.

“Fucking hell. Those bastards. They bought from him… which would mean that… the Cali also probably brought from him. Those fucks. Imma kill them. That’s.. that’s what is gonna happen. I’m going to beat them all to death. Fuckin. Fuck,” She angrily spoke to herself.

She looked on the back of them to see if he had written anything, and there was one note that said, “ _He has tried to sell art to us before but after making it well known that he does not… tolerate men like me, we washed our hands of him”_

She squinted at it with deep suspicion. ‘Uh huh. Sure. We will be talking about this when we meet.’

She tossed the photos down, sighing, a hand running down her face in exasperation. As she tried to decide what to do next, she heard her fax machine come to life. She got up and walked over to it looking at what was coming in.

The first page literally just read in huge handwriting, “Huge files. I found a great deal on him. Apparently, he’s wanted by several agencies. Prepare for a long week of reading, boss.”

‘Great.’

She left it to do its thing, occasionally checking on it to remove stacks of paper, and make sure that there was plenty of paper and ink within it. It took about 2 hours before the fax finally stopped. She began the long process of sorting the papers sent to her. Fortunately, Theo was kind of enough to code each paper with a specific number in the upper right-hand corner to note what files they belong to.

By the time she was done, several hours had passed, and she had 5 different piles sat upon her table. She only stopped every now and again to eat. She was exhausted by the time she had finished and was thankful for having work that night. She needed some space away from her paperwork or she was going to set it on fire.

That night at the bar was fairly normal, and she spent part of the night supervising the new bartender.

About 2am, trouble walked in, in the form of the Gentlemen of Cali. She ignored the three of them for the most part, allowing the newbie to take their orders, and see how he did with them.

She was busy jamming out to the rock n roll blasting from the stereos. Most of the time, the music was just a local music station. Every now and again, Jacque allowed them to play mixtapes. Currently, Uptown Girl by Billy Joel was playing, and Blix was singing along loudly. Some of the waitresses would walk up and join in with her. They would dance around and be silly between orders.

The night was coming to close; she was ready to go home and sleep. She watched as Pacho worked his magic on a guy that he settled up next to a few minutes ago. She chuckled when it barely took him two minutes to convince the guy to leave with him. She watched him walk out, with his arm wrapped around the guy.

Gilberto and Miguel stayed until bar closed and walked up to her. “ _Your tip. Thank you. You were very entertaining,”_ Gilberto said with a secretive wink. “ _Pacho also left his tip with us to give to you as well.”_

He handed her an envelope and before he and Miguel walked out. She shoved the envelope into her bag, not bothering to look at it, as she gathered the rest of her tips, and stuff. Jacque usually had the new personnel stay behind to learn the closing process, like cleaning and such, so she was able to leave a few minutes early.

She made her way home and sighed in relief once she stepped into her home. She walked upstairs to shower and change. She chewed on her lip as she sat on her bed, thinking about the envelope she had in her bag. Curiosity got the better of her and she opened it up. Inside was about $1k.

“Ooh. Oh boy. Uhhh. Wha-“ She stammered as she stared at it wide-eyed.

‘Great. Now, I have to be responsible and return this when I see them again. This is... far too much… and is essentially a payoff.’

She threw it back into her bag with an annoyed sigh, throwing herself onto her bed. ‘One of the best tips I’ve ever gotten, and I cannot accept it… because it’s from… cartel members.’

She made herself comfortable and as she fell asleep, she thought, ‘New rule: no more ridiculous tips, which I can’t believe is a thing that needs to be discussed.’

As she slept, another museum in Cali, _Museo La Tertulia_ , was in the midst of being robbed


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An explosion and some injuries. I am not a medical expert do not take my word on the descriptions I wrote. Pacho's male partner appears, he's a tad mean but he does get better eventually.

Blix woke up the next morning to her satellite phone going off. She blearily reached over to answer it, “Hello?”

“Boss. Another museum was hit. _La Tertulia_. The team is on their way there now. Shall I pick you up?” Came Theo’s voice rushed.

“Shit. No. I’ll make my way over there, need to be somewhat sneaky about it. My neighbors are too damn nosy. Already think I’m dating my CI, don’t need for them to see another man coming to pick me up,” She explained as she jumped out of bed, and started throwing clothes on. “I’ll see you in about 10 mins.”

She hung up and tossed her phone onto her bed so she could finish getting dressed. Two minutes later she was walking down the road to catch a cab. It did not take the cab very long to drop her off at the entrance of the museum. She made her way inside, and toward the crime scene in the archives.

She spotted Theo squatting down examining a piece of evidence with a pair of forceps.

“What do we got so far, Theo?” She asked as she stepped up to him.

“Not much. Just like the last couple of robberies. The cameras got a clear view of 5 men, but not of their faces. They kept their heads down almost the entire time,” Theo informed her as he set the piece of what appeared to be plastic.

“Almost?” She questioned with an eyebrow raised.

Theo smiled conspiratorially “We got a clear view of at least one of them. We have already sent his photo off to figure out who he is.”

“ _Perfection_. Now do we know what was stolen?” She inquired as she looked around.

Many of the crates were ripped opened with straw thrown about. However, as she looked into them, she couldn’t see anything actually missing.

There was one crate that looked awkwardly placed. As she inspected it, she noted that serial number painted on it, did not match the style of the crates around her.

She walked over to one of the evidence kits that held a power drill. She quietly undid the screws holding the top down. As it came loose, she knelt down, gently lifting the lid, inspecting it for any wires. Upon seeing nothing, she slid the top off.

As she stood back up, her breath caught in her throat. She could see something lighting up. She moved the straw packaging away, to reveal a bomb, that was at 45 seconds.

“Everyone! Get out! GET OUT NOW!” She yelled once it had fully registered. “It’s a bomb!”

She heard multiple pairs of feet scrambling to get out and she looked around. ‘I’m too far from the door. I’m not going to make it.’

She saw a gap amongst the crates and dived for it as the timer reached 10 seconds. She buried herself amongst them and wrapped her arms around her head to protect it.

* **BOOM***

The blast sent crates crashing everywhere. Theo who had made it outside, and dove for the cement, shook off the glass that had fallen onto his body as he stood up.

“Blix? Anyone seen her? Blix? BLIX!” Theo called out looking around trying to find her.

Theo waved his hands in front of his face, trying to clear the smoke and debris around him. He turned his head left and right trying to find her.

Upon realization that she was not outside, he came to the horrifying conclusion that she had been inside. He coughs several times, trying to clear his lungs, as he made his way back to the entrance.

There were several crates on fire, and there were many that were collapsed on top of each other. Others were getting ready to crash to the ground, teeter this way and that. He made his way toward where the explosive crate was at. He tried squinting to see where she may have gone.

As he turned in circles, looking everywhere, he spied something. A hand. He rushed over to it, pushing fragments of wood off to unveil Blix, underneath it all.

“Blix! Boss! Can you hear me?” Theo exclaimed as he tried to survey the damage done to her.

She groaned loudly, “Have I… ever told you… how much I… hate this job?”

Theo chuckled and sighed in relief. “You’ve mentioned it once or twice.”

“My foot… its pinned,” she noted with pain as she tried to move.

He looked at where her feet would be and began digging it out from under the rubble. “you have a large bronze statue on your foot,” he said after a moment. “Hold on.”

Theo wrapped his arms around the statue and began to lift it with a grunt. He was able to lift it up to a point, but he couldn’t fully lift it off. He shoved it off to the side, so it was no longer pinning her down.

She sighed in relief at the pressure being removed, “Theo. I would… very much… like to get... out of…” She trailed off as she passed out.

Theo swore and quickly picked her up, so he could carry her out.

“Damn girl… do you ever eat? No. That’s a dumb question, I’ve seen you out eat half the guys on the team,” He muttered as he adjusted her in his arms.

He carried her out as swiftly as he could and once he had stepped outside he called for a medic. The situation outside was chaotic, as everyone tried to assess the damage that had been done.

Paramedics came up to him with a stretcher and he set her on it. They began checking her vitals and securing her to it. They rushed off with her to a nearby ambulance and as much as he wished he could follow, he had to deal with the crime scene before him.

Hours later, Blix was resting comfortably in a hospital room. She was still unconscious when Theo finally was able to check in on her. He had been dealing with multiple phone calls to the embassy, and members of the DEA and Search Bloc asking for details. He was exhausted by the time he collapsed in the chair next to her bed.

The doctor had explained to him that she had busted her head open, broke some things, and she had a piece of wood pierce her side that they had to surgically remove. Beyond that she had various bruises, scrapes, and sprains.

They had her on some pretty heavy pain meds which meant she probably was going to be sleeping the rest of the night, but he did not wish to leave her alone. So, he made himself as comfortable as he could in the small plastic chair that sat in her room and fell into a light sleep.

It was in the early hours of the morning when Blix finally stirred. She groaned in pain as she shifted, jostling her many injuries unintentionally.

She looked over to the side and spied Theo sitting there.

“Theo,” she croaked, before trying to clear her throat as irritants made themselves known.

He jerked awake and blinked rapidly, looking around. His eyes eventually landed on her and he sighed with relief.

“Hey. How you feeling?” He asked leaning forward.

“Like shit. Theo. Go home. You smell like you were in an explosion,” She responded after a moment, trying to adjust herself gently.

He snorted and replied jokingly, “Really? Strange.”

He looked at her for a long moment and said with concern, “I don’t want to leave you alone here. I’m fine with staying.”

She smiled tiredly, and assured, “I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. Go get yourself cleaned up. I’ll probably be passing back out here in a moment anyway. I’m sure Anita is worried about her husband.”

“She knows where I’m at. I’ll… I’ll get cleaned up and then check back on you around noon, yeah?” He conceded with a sigh.

She nodded her head once before slowly drifting off to sleep again. Theo made his way out and back home.

When Blix woke again, she could feel the sunlight on her face. She squinted her eyes and scrunched up her face as sleep left her. She could hear movement as she became aware of her surroundings.

She finally pried her eyes opened and looked around. Who she saw was not who she was expecting.

“Pacho?” She whispered as she rubbed her eyes to clear them.

“ _Hi sweetness. How are you feeling?”_ He softly asked as he took a seat on the bed.

“ _I’ve had better days, I will say,”_ She answered as she tried to push herself up into a sitting position.

He reached over and gently lifted her up, adjusting her pillow so she was comfortable.

She thanked him quietly and sighed heavily. Before she could say much else, the nurse walked in.

“ _Oh! You’re awake! Good. Let me go get your doctor,”_ She exclaimed before stepping back out for a moment.

She walked back in with a doctor, and as the doctor spoke with Blix, she checked the machines that were hooked up to her.

“ _Hello, Miss Lage. I am Doctor Garza. Tell me what is your current pain level?”_ He introduced before asking.

“Umm. _About 5. Maybe a 6. So, what’s the damage report?”_ She asked wanting to know what had happened to her.

“ _Well. Miss Lage to begin with you have quite the bump to your head. We shall be checking on you throughout the day to make sure you do not have a concussion. We had to surgically remove a chunk of wood that had imbedded itself in your side. There are some broken bones in your left foot, and it has been placed into a cast. Beyond that, your ribs are bruised, and have various other bruises, scrapes on your body. Your right wrist also was sprained at some point. If I may say so, you are very lucky to be alive,”_ He explained gesturing to each wound as he spoke.

She hummed softly, “ _Just more scars to add to the list.”_

Pacho took her hand in his and gently brushed his thumb over the back of her hand. She smiled at him weakly.

“ _Maria here will be taking your vitals, and checking you for any symptoms of a concussion,”_ Doctor Garza finished. “ _Please let me know if you need anything else.”_

Maria then began to check her eyes and ask her questions about herself, and the date/time, etc. She wasn’t quite sure of the time since there wasn’t a clock, she just knew it was early.

The conversation took about 5 minutes, before the nurse than made sure she was comfortable, and not feeling pain. She then left after jotting down some notes.

Once they were alone again, Blix sighed, “I hate hospitals. Hate being stuck in them. I wouldn’t by chance be able to talk you into a jailbreak, would I?”

He chuckled at my question. “Very tempted lovely. I think you should stay here at least for a day.”

“Boo. You’re no fun,” she pouted.

He simply shook his head at me and simply said, “I took the liberty of paying for all of the expenses. You have nothing to worry about. I will also be picking you up when you are released, and I shall take care of you.”

“Oh. Pacho. No. You don’t have to do that honey. I can take care of myself just fine,” She denied his offer with a shake of her head.

“Yes, I am well aware you can take care of yourself but... isn’t it about time someone took care of you?” He said with a smirk and a kiss to her cheek.

“Oh. Wow.” She breathed, not expecting that response. “That’s… that’s a good line. That might have even earned you a yes.”

“It’s not a line, _darling_ , it’s purely for selfish reason. Need to keep my favorite agent alive. No use to me dead,” Pacho said dryly.

She stared at him for a moment, slightly surprised. She shook her head, looking away. ‘Unbelievable.’

“Right. Forgot. To you I’m nothing more than a pawn. You should go. My coworkers will probably be here soon,” She dismissed him not sparing him another glance.

He narrowed his eyes at her and reached up to grab her chin and turned her head back to him.

“If you were merely a pawn, I would’ve just sent flowers,” He informed her annoyed.

His eyes scanned her face for a second, before he pressed his lips to hers. She didn’t respond in kind and as he pulled away, he quietly muttered, “Don’t be like that.”

“I was serious. My coworkers will be coming to check on me soon. You should get back to work… or whatever it is you do during the day. Thank you for coming to see me, and for paying the bill. I’ll be sure to pay you back,” She said softly in response, wishing to avoid any conflict.

“I’m sure that I will see you soon. I believe you mentioned something about giving me more details on König? Plus, you owe me an explanation on your dealings with him,” She concluded with a faint smile.

“Okay. I will go. I was serious though. I wish to take care of you while you heal. Allow me that simple pleasure,” He gently pleaded stroking his knuckles over her jaw.

She nodded her head after a moment, and gives him a small, chaste kiss. He took his leave a moment later.

Not 10 minutes had passed before her coworkers walked in, carrying various flowers, balloons and bears.

“Good lord. Guys! What is this?” She laughed.

“Us, showing our appreciation over the best boss, who risked her life to save ours and wound up in a hospital bed,” Cynthia happily replied as she started to set things around her. “Ooh. It appears you’ve already had a visitor I see!”

Blix looked over to where she was looking at confused. Next to her bed was a bouquet of roses and lilies, in a beautiful shade of pink.

She gaped at the flowers, before reaching over to grab the note attached to them.

“ _Something to make you smile, darling. – P.”_

She bit her lip, as a smile appeared on her face. “ _Bastard.”_ She whispered.

“Who are these from? Girl, you’ve been holding out on us!” Cynthia teased.

“Just a friend,” Blix said vaguely.

“A friend? A friend who paid probably $500 for these flowers, given where they are from? One of the most expensive flower shops in the city, and he’s ‘just a friend,’” Cynthia replied with a scoff.

“It’s… it’s complicated. That’s all I can really say,” Blix tried to explain.

They all took seats and began chitchatting. It had been a while since she had felt so relax and laughed genuinely.

Throughout their visit, the nurse would come in and check on her, or bring her a meal.

As the day was ending, Blix couldn’t help the yawns that kept rising up. Theo noticed that it was getting late and announced that they should probably leave and let Blix rest. They all said their goodbyes one by one, until it was just Theo.

“By the way boss, the ambassador wants you to take 2 weeks off to heal. No exceptions,” He informed her wincing, expecting her to get upset.

She nodded and said “I expected that. It’s okay. I am not going to be able to do much with this foot anyway.”

Theo nodded back and waved goodbye. She sighed at the silence of the room, and gently wiggled her body to lie further down.

She was staring at the flowers that she was left, and she couldn’t help the smile that crept as she admired them.

“I take it you like them?” She heard a voice gently ask.

She jumped as she flicked her eyes back over to the door. Pacho stood there, his hands in his pockets as he sauntered over.

“Yes. I do like them. They are very beautiful,” She thanked him as scooted over to make room for him to sit.

“I… may have said something in poor taste earlier. And I wish to apologize for that,” he admitted as he sat down.

“Oh? Is that so?” Blix said loftily.

“Yes. I am sorry. I did not mean to sound uncaring. Nor did I mean it to sound like I thought you were a simple pawn,” He apologized quietly.

“Thank you. I uh.. I’m sorry for getting upset like I did. It’s not like we are dating or anything. Just because we slept together doesn’t mean that I’m suddenly someone of great importance to you,” She said with a wince as she thought back to that morning.

“ _Oh sweetness, when are you going to realize? I meant what I said earlier. If you were of no importance, I would have just sent flowers. Not bring them myself and check up on you personally,”_ He stated firmly with a kiss.

“ _Would… would it bother you if I asked you to stay a while? At least until I fell asleep?”_ Blix requested after a moment.

“ _No, it would not bother me at all,”_ He responded with a soft smile.

He laid down on the bed as best as he could, on his side, curling an arm around her, as his other tucked itself under her pillow. She wrapped her arms around him as best as she could and buried her face into his chest and neck. She fell asleep in minutes.

The next morning, she woke up alone, and spent the day making calls from the hospital phone to check in with Javier, Horacio, and her bosses.

Beyond that she spent the day, being checked on and having tests run to make sure everything was okay. By that evening she was cleared for release.

As she was rolled out to the front of the hospital with a bag full of meds and bandages, true to his word, Pacho stood there leaning against his Thunderbird.

He walked over to her and helped her up. “ _Hello dear.”_

She smiled in response as she slowly stood and took the crutches that were being handed to her. She made her way over to his car and he followed behind her. He helped her inside and waited till she was situated before closing the door.

He got in and drove off. “ _I was thinking that we go by your place. You get whatever you need for work, and then you come home with me. Tomorrow, we will sit down and talk with Gilberto and Miguel about K_ _önig and what we know about him,”_ He proposed as he reached over to hold her hand.

“ _Pacho. You’ve already done too much. Plus, I plan to give back the “tip” you three gave me. I am perfectly fine with taking care of myself,”_ Blix protested with a small sigh.

“ _I truly hate repeating myself, beautiful. I wish to take care of you, so accept it,_ ” He said firmly, leaving no room for argument.

They pulled up to her house soon afterwards. He helped her grabbed the 5 files she still had sitting out and placed them in the trunk of his car. As she stepped into her office, to grab her notes, he leaned against the door frame and whistled at the sight he saw.

“A bit obsessed, I see?” He wondered with wide eyes.

She looked at him and then at her wall, and simply mouthed “A little bit” complete with hand motion.

He strode up to the wall, and examined it further, noting with a smirk that she had pinned the photos he sent her on the wall as well.

She had gathered what notes and pens she would need for her conversation tomorrow with the brothers.

“ _Is that everything?”_ Pacho inquired.

 _“I mean, I still need to get clothes and such. My sat phone,”_ She listed looking at him confused.

 _“Get your phone. I will provide you with clothes, unless of course you wish to wander around my home naked? Which… I wouldn’t protest,_ ” He flirted pulling her closer to him.

She shook her head at him, and as she started to move past him, she realized, “My phone is upstairs…”

“Get back to the car, I’ll get it for you,” He offered with a chuckle.

She made her way back out, thankful that she only had 3 steps to go down as she hobbled outside. She held the notes close to her chest as she opened the door, and practically collapsed onto the seat.

She took a moment to breathe, the pain meds she had taken before she left the hospital were slowly wearing off, and an ache was building up in her chest and side.

Pacho had at this point left the house and made sure it was locked behind him. He made his way around to her side and helped her straighten up, moving the crutches out of her way. He gave her a quick kiss once she was settled.

He got into the car and took off, leaving the city behind them and steering toward the countryside. They drove for about an hour before finally turning onto a dirt path that led to a large mansion. He parked in the garage, next to several other sports cars and his motorcycles.

He escorted her out and into the house, depositing her into a kitchen chair. He left to go speak with some of his men, while his chef placed a plate of food before her. She thanked him before digging in. It wasn’t until the first bite, that she realized just how hungry she was, and she began to scarf the food down.

Pacho walked in and laughed at her, “ _The food isn’t running away from you honey. You can enjoy it, ya know?_ ”

She slowed back down, her cheeks warming with slight embarrassment.

“ _Sorry. The hospital didn’t exactly give the finest of meals, while I was there,”_ She admitted, after swallowing the food that was in her mouth.

“ _Don’t apologize. I like a woman with a healthy appetite,”_ He waved her apology off, as he took a seat next to her.

“ _So, when will Miguel and Gilberto arrive tomorrow?”_ She asked as she took smaller bites.

“ _About noon. Chepe will be with them as well. This weekend we are entertaining members of the Guadalajara Cartel,_ ” He answered, his eyes rolling at the last part.

“ _Oh. Don’t like the Mexican cartel eh_?” She guessed.

“ _Gallardo is a pain in the ass, who thinks he can outsmart us. His whole cartel is a sham. A powder-keg waiting to be lit,”_ He seethed, shaking his head.

She snickered at him, before noticing a man standing behind him. “Hi?”

Pacho looked behind him and motioned him forward.

“ _This is Diego, he’s my_ …” Pacho introduced before trailing off, awkwardly.

Blix looked at the dark-skinned man, who looked to be around her age as well, and noticed how he leaned into Pacho. She understood what he was trying to say.

“ _Boyfriend? Lover? Paramour? Pacho. Its fine. I’m well aware of your preference. This doesn’t change anything_ ,” Blix supplied with a smile. “ _Hello. I’m Blix.”_

She held out her hand to shake. Diego looked her up and down, before responding, “ _Hmm. Bit of a stepdown from your usual. Whatever happened to sleeping with the most beautiful women possible? A bit subpar don’t you think?_ ”

She blinked in response, not expecting that at all.

“ _Diego,”_ Pacho admonished.

“ _No. It’s… it’s not the worst insult I’ve had thrown at me. He’s entitled to his opinion_ ,” She mumbled looking away, her appetite gone.

“ _So. Where exactly am I staying_?” She asked wanting to escape the awkwardness.

Pacho got up and whispered something to Diego angrily, before leading her through the large open living room, to the grand staircase.

The crutches were long forgotten and abandoned in the kitchen, and she limped after Pacho and took the stairs slowly. The cast she had on wasn’t a full plaster cast, it was meant to give some flexibility. So, while it was uncomfortable to walk on, it wasn’t painful.

He led her upstairs and to the left, leading her to a bedroom that was probably bigger than her entire first floor of her house.

“ _I’m sorry about Diego. I don’t… I don’t know why he would say that,”_ Pacho apologized as they stepped into the room.

“ _Its fine. Seriously. I don’t expect any of your men to be happy that I’m here. Least of all the man that you are in a relationship with_ ,” She waved it off. “ _Like I said, he’s not the first to say something about my looks, he won’t be the last_.”

“ _True. But I know it bothered you more than you let on_ ,” Pacho observed pulling her close to him. “ _You’ve created quite the thick skin to deflect most of the comments people make about your scars. But it still gets you at times. I saw the look in your eyes. The way you closed in on yourself with that one comment_.”

She doesn’t respond. Honestly, she didn’t know how to. It wasn’t very often when someone was able to point out her tells.

“ _I will talk to Diego. I don’t want my two favorite people to be at each other’s throats_ ,” he assured, pressing kisses to the top of her head.

She nodded once before slowly wrapping her arms around his waist. She pressed a small kiss to the sliver of his chest that could be seen in the parting of his button-down shirt.

“ _I’m going to go shower… if you’d like to join_?” She suggested as she pulled away from him.

He smirked at her and led her over to the en-suite bathroom. As they stepped inside, flicking the lights on blindly, Pacho captured her lips with his in a passionate kiss. Blix began to unbutton his shirt with fumbling fingers; softly tugging to untuck the shirt from his pants as well.

He gently lifted the tank top she wore off of her, her bra following swiftly after. A few minutes later they were both undressed and waiting for the shower to heat up.

Pacho examined the bandage on her waist and gently pulled it off of her.

“ _These are healing nicely,”_ He commented looking at her stitches. “ _Make sure you dry this area when we get out, but it should be safe to get wet so long as we don’t spend forever in there.”_

Blix nodded, and as they stepped into the shower, they fooled around a bit. They cleaned and made out a lot but stepped out once they had finished cleaning. He made sure her stitches were dry before he helped put on a new bandage.

They made their way back into the room, and when Blix leaned up to continue the heated kisses they had started before, Pacho stopped her.

“ _We should probably stop, my dear. Wouldn’t want to pull those stitches,”_ Pacho gently reminded.

“Buzzkill. That’s what you are. You owe me,” She replied as she turned to get herself dressed, or mostly dressed.

“I promise. I’ll make it up as soon as those stitches are out,” Pacho swore, coming up behind her and pressing kisses to her shoulders.

She threw on a cami and a pair of underwear, that she found in the dresser before slipping under the covers. She patted the empty space next to her, beckoning him to join her, which he did.

Blix curled herself around him as he settled in, finding extreme comfort in the warmth of his skin.

As they laid there, she gently ran her fingers up and down his skin, drawing pictures on his chest.

He grabbed a cigarette out of the pack that had been placed on his bedside table and lit it. She fell asleep to smell of nicotine and the sensation of Pacho’s own hand running itself up and down her back.

The warmth of the rising sun woke her the next day, and as she opened her eyes, her gaze immediately fell upon Pacho, who was still asleep.

She admired him, for a moment. He looked far more relaxed as he slept, when he was awake, he was always on a constant high alert. She propped herself up on her elbow, and lightly ran a finger along his face. She regarded the slight scruff forming on his face, biting her lip at the tickling sensation she felt as she stroked it.

She stared at him in awe for a moment more, before sitting up. Or at least she tried to. A pair of arms wrapped around her and pulled her back down.

“ _Where do you think you are going, lovely?”_ Came Pacho’s sleepy voice.

“ _I was going to go make breakfast for us. And go to the bathroom if you truly must know,”_ She answered honestly.

He hummed in response, “ _I suppose I can let you go for that. Need to go get dressed anyway.”_

They both slowly sat up together, and Pacho got up from the bed and made his way to the door. She stared at his backside with a smirk, shamelessly checking him out.

He turned back to look at her and simply said, “No. Not until you’re healed.”

She stuck her tongue out in response, and he laughed loudly on his way out. She then got up and did her business in the bathroom, before strolling over to the closet.

She turned on the light and whistled at all of the clothes that hung there. All high-end fashion, all stuff one would see on a runway.

She pulled out a pair of jeans, a tank top, and a flannel shirt to go over it. She slipped on a black flat leaving its twin behind and brushed out her hair, before pulling it into a ponytail.

She walked out once she was dressed and ready, making her way down to the kitchen area. She opened the refrigerator and looked at what was available in there, spotting some eggs and sausage links as she perused the fridge. She noticed out of the corner of her eye a loaf of bread. After trying a couple of cabinets, she found the spice cabinet, and grabbed the cinnamon.

She began to make some French toast and sausage once she had gathered the ingredients and spending five minutes searching for utensils and such.

As she cooked, Pacho walked in with Diego close behind. She ignored him for the most part, especially when he gave her a distasteful look. Diego grabbed some plates and dining utensils, setting them out on the kitchen island, ignoring her as well.

The food was done soon enough, and Diego grabbed the powdered sugar and syrup. All of them made their own plates, before sitting down with Pacho in the middle. While they ate, Pacho and Diego spoke of work and Blix half listened, not particularly caring.

Once they finished eating, they moved to the living room, and Blix had her files moved to the coffee table so she could begin reviewing them. She opened the first file, and grabbed a legal pad, and began notating what was important. The style of König’s crimes, and what he often stole. Various other crimes and essentially his background plus anyone associated with him.

She was so focused she didn’t notice the various men (sicarios), walk through to talk to Pacho who sat opposite of her and watched her with curious eyes.

Several hours had passed by the time Gilberto, Miguel, and Chepe walked in and greeted Pacho.

They looked over at Blix inquisitively, who had at some point, moved to sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table. She had gone through at least two of the files and was on the third. She had gone through at least one legal pad and was nearing the end of a second one.

She blinked when she heard someone clear their throat and called her name. She looked up owlishly and said, “What?”

It took her a moment to fully realize who all was there. “Oh. Hi! Sorry? Have… have you been here long?” She asked hesitantly, as she stood back up.

“ _A few minutes. You are…very focused. It was quite adorable Miss Lage,”_ Chepe complimented as he stepped forward to take her hand and kiss it.

She shook her head, “ _A flirt. That’s all that you are, Chepe.”_

“ _Only for you, beautiful,”_ Chepe flirted back with a wink.

She then stepped toward Gilberto and Miguel and greeted them with a handshake, both men pressing a kiss to her cheek in greeting.

They then took their seats Pacho and Chepe sitting on either side of her, Miguel & Gilberto sat across from them.

She grabbed a fresh notepad and looked at each man for a moment, before titling the blank page: CI’s Orange, Blue, Purple, And Silver.

Chepe leaned over and looked at her title with questioning eyes.

“ _Can’t exactly let my coworkers know that I am receiving this info from Cartel Members. So, to protect your identities, code. Shirt color in this instance,”_ Blix explained quickly.

“ _Alright. K_ _önig. How did you meet him? What do you know?_ ” She interrogated all four of them.

Gilberto replied, “ _He came to us looking to sell art he had… ‘acquired.’ He seemed alright but he felt the need to make comments that were…. Discourteous towards us. Particularly toward Pacho and his choices in romantic partners.”_

She raised an eyebrow at that confession, “ _You broke ties with a well-known art thief, because he was homophobic? No offense, especially to you Pacho, but… don’t most of the people you work with… have some issues with his preferences?”_

Pacho snorted at the question and as he lit a cigarette, answered, “ _Yes. But most of them know not to say it directly to my face or theirs.”_

“Ah. Got it. Go on then,” She urged Gilberto to go on after nodding her head in understanding.

“ _We bought a couple of items, and we were planning to create a deal to slip cocaine using his routes and trucks, to have them brought into America via Mexico or on his planes. He had ties to Europe which we had planned to take advantage of. But. His lack of his respect toward all of us ruined those plans,”_ Gilberto further explained.

“ _Wouldn’t happen to know what those routes were, do you?”_ She asked after she noted everything he said.

He shook his head apologetically, “ _Never got to that point.”_

“ _The painting to your left is one of the ones we bought,”_ Miguel noted.

She looked over at it and scrutinized it for a bit. “ _Caravaggio. Nice. Fake, but nice.”_

“ _Excuse me? Fake? That’s not fake? What are you talking about?_ ” Miguel sputtered in outrage.

She sighed before explaining without looking up from her notepad, “ _There’s a smudge of pink that’s not consistent with the era in the bottom right corner. It also looks like it was painted 4 months ago not 400 years ago. Good art forgers would know to age the paint, usually tossing it in the oven on very low heat does the trick. Or even painting over an old painting.”_

After a few minutes of silence, she looked back up to see all 4 men starring at her, impressed.

 _“What?”_ She wondered, blinking slowly.

 _“Nothing. Just… impressed by your knowledge. Ever thought about being a criminal?”_ Chepe asked jokingly.

 _“What makes you think I haven’t committed any crimes?”_ She posed challengingly. “ _You think that just because I’m a federal agent that I’m squeaky clean?”_

 _“Oh? Go on then. Don’t leave us in suspense darling,”_ Chepe cajoled leaning closer.

 _“Statute of limitations hasn’t passed yet, ask me again in a year or so,”_ She said with a smirk.

At that the others laughed, especially at Chepe’s responding pout.

“ _Anything else I should know about K_ _önig_?” She asked once everyone sobered up a bit.

“ _He’s an ass. Do not let your guard around him. He’s a bit similar to Gacha, he doesn’t care for partners, and he is not afraid to go after police or federal agents. Hence why he probably laid that trap for you at the museum,”_ Pacho answered as he finished his cigarette.

She nodded, stretching as the memory of the explosion made her suddenly ache. At that moment, lunch was served and laid out on the dining table. They moved over to it and began to talk more about art and previous cases she’s worked.

It was odd, but she found it enjoyable to sit and talk with all four of them. ‘Never thought my life would take this turn. Having lunch with the Gentlemen of Cali. I think… I’m going to enjoy this as much as I can.’


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boredom does not suit Blix well. We meet Felix Gallardo and Amado Fuentes (Briefly).

A few days later, and Blix was bored out of her mind. Her stitches itched. She wanted the cast off. She was tired of avoiding arguments with Diego. She honestly was two seconds away from setting the damn house on fire.

She had gone through her files 5 times, and talked with her team, who had finished up the crime scene at _La Tertulia._ Nothing had been stolen, just made to appear that way. It was all a trap to get them there and try to take them out. According to intel, König had figured out that the FBI was on his tail, but he didn’t know much more beyond that.

That had been two days ago. She was currently pacing the floors. Chepe often made jokes, about her being like a carnival game. One sicario was brave enough to try and throw a tennis ball at her. She had been irritated enough to throw a knife near his face, in retaliation. No one dared to do anything similar since.

She was waiting for Pacho to return from his meeting with Escobar. Something about there being an issue in LA. She usually tuned out when he heard him talk business to his associates.

While she was waiting, a doctor had apparently been called to come in and look over wounds. Her stitches were removed, as was her cast. She was told to gently exercise with it, so as to not cause the muscles to stiffen and cause her more pain.

Once he left, she had nothing to do again, but pass time. She didn’t want to read, she wasn’t hungry. If she looked at her files again, she was going to throw them in the trash.

She eventually decided to go for a swim to pass the time. She ignored some of the whispers she heard from his men as she walked by. She had many scars throughout her body; she was well aware of what they looked like.

She swam for about an hour, during which Pacho had eventually returned, irritated. His irritation did fade a bit once he looked out from the balcony attached to his office and saw Blix swimming.

Chepe stood next to him and commented, “ _She is quite beautiful, no?”_

Pacho smirked and nodded, “ _She is.”_

Blix finally got tired of swimming and stepped out. As she was drying off, Diego walked over to her.

“ _Hm. I can see the appeal. Somewhat. You are almost beautiful. The scars though, tsk,”_ He began, saying it lowly to her. “ _You know Pacho is just using you right? You know that you mean nothing to him? That once you are no longer needed, he will cut you out? Don’t get use to his attention. It won’t last.”_

Blix doesn’t respond, like she usually did. She just wrapped the towel around herself and went inside.

She took a quick shower and got dressed. While everyone was distracted with Pacho’s return she moved her files and notes and took them to the garage.

She looked around for the most inconspicuous car he owned. Which wound up being a dark green corvette, a convertible. She walked over to the wall that held the keys and found the one labeled Corvette. She grabbed them and unlocked the driver side door, reaching over and setting her files down onto the passenger seat.

When she straightened up, she jumped as she sees Chepe standing next to her.

“ _Trying to make the great escape eh?”_ Chepe teased, leaning against the car.

“ _I just need some air. Away from here. I am tired of being stuck here,”_ She quietly admitted, with a sigh. “ _Does Pacho know I’m out here?”_

“ _No. I saw you sneak this way by chance. If you want to go out, I can take you, if you would like?”_ He offered politely.

She looked down, annoyed, and honestly exasperated. She had a quick thought; she wasn’t sure if it would work.

“ _Okay. Do you mind running in to get me a drink then? I don’t wanna risk running into Diego again,”_ She quietly pleaded. “ _A soda please?”_

 _“Sure. I can do that, Little Lady,”_ Chepe answered, calling her the nickname that some of the guys had begun to call her.

He walked away and once he gotten a little bit away from her, she jumped in the car and locked the door. She quickly started it as Chepe, made his way back over to try and get her out. He was too slow, and she drove off thankful that each car had its own garage opener.

She drove past the guards and made her way out onto the lonely road that led back to Cali.

As Chepe stood there, chuckling, Pacho wandered in. “ _What’s going on?_ ”

“ _Little bird flew the nest. She apparently needed to get away for a while,”_ Chepe replied before turning around to go back into the house. “ _Let her have a day to herself Pacho. Also. Might want to talk Diego. I believe he may have said something to her again._ ”

“ _She took my favorite. A little concern about that,”_ He mumbled to himself, a hand rubbing over his chin nervously.

Chepe laughed at that, as they both made their way back to Pacho’s office. An hour later they finished business, and Pacho requested for Diego to come see him.

A moment later Diego appeared before him.

“ _My love. Why must you constantly be at odds with her?”_ Pacho asked sitting at his desk.

“ _Why did you even bring her here? Why are you even bothering with her? She said it herself, the deal the brothers want, won’t matter until Escobar is out of the picture. Why keep her around?”_ Diego rapid fired his questions in response.

“ _I like her. Simple as that. I brought her here to take care of her while she healed. I keep her around, because I enjoy talking to her. I know my answers may upset you. But you also seem to think that I’m replacing you with her, and that’s not true,”_ He answered truthfully, looking him in the eyes.

“ _I still love you Diego. She’s not taking me away from you. In fact, I’m quite certain I’ve spent most of this week with you. In your arms. Not hers. So why do you continue to belittle her?”_ He continued as he stood before Diego and pulled him close.

Diego looked away, and felt a small amount of guilt as he reflected over the comments he said to her.

“ _I will… try to tolerate her more. I make no promises. But I will stop trying to goad her into an argument,”_ Diego conceded.

“ _Thank you. That’s all I want,”_ Pacho said pressing a kiss to Diego’s lips. “ _Now, I have to go find her, and make sure she’s okay. You owe her an apology by the way.”_

Diego rolled his eyes slightly but nodded his head.

Back with Blix, she had finally arrived home, parking the corvette gently in front of her home. She grabbed her stuff out of the seat, and went inside, sighing in relief at the sight of her home.

She set her files down in her office alongside her sat phone. She checked on the food in her fridge, some of which had spoiled so she tossed it out. She decided then that she wanted to go to the store and get her own groceries.

She did just that, the store she liked was only two blocks down, so she walked to it. She grabbed a couple of different meats to make meals with, and then she got a lot of junk food. Once she was done getting what she needed between food and personal hygiene items, she checked out. Her trip took about 40 mins, but it made her feel a lot better already.

While she enjoyed being at Pacho’s home, she was often left to her own devices, and her movements were restricted around the house, depending on where he had his meetings.

She quite frankly grew bored, and while she tried to strike up conversation with the men around the house, they often avoided her. Whether it was because she was a federal agent or because Pacho ordered them to not speak with her, she wasn’t sure. Either way, she simply couldn’t do much.

She returned to her house and put away everything. She called up Jacque to see if she could come into work that night. He very enthusiastically told her yes. So, she got ready, dressing up in a black halter top mini dress, with a simple v-neck. It’s straps and bodice were lace-y, the skirt ending just above mid-thigh, and flowy. She slipped on her black strappy high heels.

She did some simple makeup, lip-gloss, and a bit of eyeshadow. She thought about walking to work, but then she stared at the lovely little corvette before her. She grabbed her purse, making sure her house keys were in it, along with some cash, her IDs and such before she snatched the car keys. ‘It’s such a pretty car. I mean it should be admired, should it not?’

She drove to work, smiling. When she got to work, she greeted Jacque and the waitresses. The official story for them was that she was in a car crash. So, they all came up to check on her, and made sure she was okay.

She told them she was fine, and ready to get back to normal. The night went on like it normally did, locals in the beginning, before switching to the younger crowd.

Her head at one point did begin to pound, and she had to take a seat while she worked, because she felt a bit lightheaded.

Jacque eventually sent off on her break, and as she made her way over to the familiar taco truck, she felt a bit exhausted. She didn’t have too much time to think on it as a small force ran into her, arms wrapping around her tightly.

“ _Miss Bee! You’re okay. We were so worried! I -We missed you!”_ Came the small voice of Paulo.

She hugged him back once she regained her bearings. “ _Hi honey. Yes. I’m okay. I missed you too.”_

She stepped forward as Paulo talked her ear off, catching her up on the local and familial drama.

“ _Slow down for a moment honey. I gotta order,”_ Blix said, trying to get him to pause for a moment. “ _Hello Henri. How are you?”_

“ _I’m good little fox. I’m happy to see you out and about. Are you sure you’re okay to be working already?”_ Henri asked concern, looking her over.

“ _I’m fine. I may see about heading out early. My head is aching. But uh.. I would like the steak burrito, please?”_ She assured before placing her order.

“ _Oh? Who upset you honey?”_ He asked as he began to make it.

 _“Why do you ask that? It’s just a burrito,”_ Blix protested.

 _“You don’t order the burrito, unless you are feeling upset. It’s a part of your quirks. Steak tacos on normal days, chicken quesadillas when you have strange cravings, cause you tend to dunk them in whatever sauce is available, and burritos when you’re really upset by something,”_ He listed out as he cooked.

She stared at him in surprise, blinking slowly. “ _I… I don’t know what to say that.”_

 _“As I said, it’s just something I noticed over the past year. By the way this is on the house,”_ he noted as he began assembling the burrito.

A moment later, he hands her the burrito wrapped in some aluminum foil, and a couple of napkins. He then puts out a sign saying that he’s gone on break and comes outside.

He beckons her over to one of the picnic tables, and tells Paulo to go inside, that he can catch up later.

Blix made her way over to him, hopping up to sit on the tabletop, as she took a bite of her burrito.

“ _Alright, lil fox, what’s going on?”_ Henri began, gently nudging her with his shoulder.

“ _I seem to have the worst taste in men,”_ She began softly.

“ _This guy I’m… dating? Sleeping with? I don’t really know what exactly it is, he… he has… a partner, who… doesn’t care for me too much, is the nice way to put it,”_ She slowly explained trying to take care in her words.

“ _I knew he had this partner from the beginning, or rather I suspected it. That’s not my problem. The problem is… I have spent the past week, being goaded and taunted by this other person, because of my looks,”_ She stated with a sigh, staring down at her food dejectedly. “ _Often times, I can ignore what people say about me. But this past week, has really done a number on me.”_

 _“Is the man you are seeing aware of the comments, and insults?”_ Henri asked after a moment.

 _“Yes. He knows…about some of it. I gave up after the third day of it, and his partner giving no shits about what he says,”_ She confessed. “ _The thing is, I spent years… years… trying to get over my scars. There was a large portion of my life where I would spend an hour every morning, putting on makeup to cover them up.”_

 _“What made you stop doing that?”_ He asked curiously.

 _“My friend in Bogota. He… he was the first guy who looked at me, sans makeup, and didn’t flinch. He told me that I looked like a goddess. Athena in human form. It was the sincerest compliment I had ever gotten in years. I stopped caring after that,”_ She answered with a fond smile, thinking of Javier.

 _“Sounds like a good man. Why aren’t you with him then?”_ Henri wondered with a chuckle.

Blix laughed in response, before replying, “ _Because the man is terrified of commitment.”_

“ _Ahh. Okay then,”_ He responded, nodding his head. “ _It sounds to me however, that you need to talk to your other suitor. If this relationship is to continue, all of you have to be on the same page. Being outed by his other significant other, is not fair to you.”_

 _“I… I don’t know anymore, Henri. Feels like I shouldn’t even bother with it anymore. Not gonna lie, I kind of ran off on him today. Just… couldn’t deal with it anymore. Maybe I am just meant to be alone,”_ She shrugged, before taking a large bite to distract herself.

 _“Now, that sounds like giving up. I didn’t take you for a quitter,”_ He lightly admonished. “ _Take some time to yourself. The next time you see him, if your heart starts to race, or you feel butterflies in your stomach, then that’s worth pursuing. It means his mere presence makes you happy.”_

She smiled softly at that and nodded her head. She continued eating, the two of them talking for a while longer, before the both of them had to return to work.

She worked for another hour before leaving early. Her head was pounding, and she felt exhausted. She sat in the driver’s side of the car, resting her eyes for a moment. The lightheadedness had return as well. She heard a tap on her door, and she rolled the window down and sees Diego standing there.

“ _Move over to the next seat. I’ll take you home. Pacho is waiting for you there,”_ Diego softly ordered.

She stared at him in suspicion first, before slowly crawling over the center console, and sitting in the passenger seat. He gets in and started the car, after making sure she was secured in her seat.

 _“I’m… sorry.”_ Diego suddenly stated after a minute.

 _“Wow. Did that taste like vinegar coming out of your mouth?”_ She asked bitterly.

 _“Yes. It did actually,”_ He answered shortly.

_“Thanks. I guess. You know… that I’m not trying to take him from you, right? If… when… he decides he doesn’t want me anymore, I’ll go. I’m not… here to ruin what the 2 of you have,” She quietly commented, staring out the window._

_“I know…,”_ He responded. “ _Though… I have a feeling that you are going to be around for long time. The last girl he was with, he never brought her to the house. Never got her flowers. He likes you, that much I can tell. Which was why… I got territorial. Which was unwarranted. I can’t say that we will be best friends, but I will try to be less of an ass.”_

 _“Okay. That works. Was Pacho pissed that I took his car?”_ She asked wanting to change the subject.

 _“Pissed? Concerned is more like it. This is his favorite. His baby,_ ” Diego snorted, as they pulled up to her house.

“Oops.” She said quietly, a small snicker slipping out.

As the car came to a stop, she stepped out to see Pacho, waiting for her on the steps. He looked up at her, as she stepped forward. As his eyes locked onto hers, she felt her heart race a bit. ‘Damnit, Henri _.’_

She gently stepped passed him to unlock her door and walked inside without saying anything to him.

She made her way to her kitchen to get a glass of water, and some pain medicine. She swallowed the meds quickly before chugging down some water. When she finished, she noticed Pacho standing before her.

“Diego told me…everything. We spoke earlier. Hopefully, now we can all live somewhat peacefully with one another,” Pacho began.

As much as she wanted to believe that, her doubts and insecurities threatened to raise their ugly heads. She leaned against the kitchen counter behind her, gazing at the kitchen tile. Pacho moved to stand before her, and gently cupped her face with his hands, silently asking her to look up.

She does so slowly, hesitantly, biting her lip nervously.

“What’s the matter, my sweet?” He asked concerned.

“Diego… he made some points though. There is no need for you to dote over me when I’ve already agreed to do what you want. Your deal is as good as done, once the brothers have typed it up. So, why bother with me?” She questioned, her tone serious.

“I dote over you because I wish to. How many times do I have to tell you, that I find you absolutely gorgeous? Extremely breathtaking? A goddess? I’m with you, because I like you,” He praised. “Maybe I am being somewhat selfish in that I also want to learn about your every secret. Your beautiful, and charming. Smart. Witty. You have a dark side to you, that intrigues me greatly. Why wouldn’t I want to be with you?”

He doesn’t allow her to answer as he pressed his lips to her. Her hands slowly wrapped around his back, as one of his slid down her side.

“This dress is sexy, but... I feel like it’ll look better on the floor,” He whispered against her lips.

His hand on her side, grabbed a handful of her dress, bunching it up as he began to pull it up.

They continued to kiss until they were gasping for breath and had to pull away.

“I want you to come with me to meet with the Gallardo. We’ll be going to Panama. It’ll just be me and a few others,” Pacho requested in a whisper.

“Why? What do you need me for?” She quietly asked, curious.

“I want you by my side. Simple as that,” Pacho answered. “What do you say?”

She started to answer when her phone rang. “Hold that thought.” She said pressing a kiss to his lips.

“Hello?” She spoke into the kitchen phone.

“Hey. It’s me,” Came Javier’s voice.

“Hi. What’s up? It’s like 1am,” She said with concern.

“We got Gacha. Earlier today. We… we killed him,” He announced with a sigh.

“What? Oh my god! That’s… that’s amazing!” She congratulated. “But uh… shouldn’t you be out celebrating? Drinking? Sex with a random woman?”

As she spoke, Pacho came up behind her, and pressed kisses to the back and side of her neck.

“Thought about it… but uh… didn’t quite feel like it, I guess. I mean. I have been drinking, just not at a bar,” He responded, somewhat hesitantly.

“Javi. What’s wrong? This is a win. One step closer to Escobar, yeah?” She contended, somewhat confused by his tone.

“I uhh. Do you… do you ever think about us?” Javi inquired.

She sighed at that question, while also attempting to get Pacho to stop with his ministrations that were slowly getting bolder. His hand had slipped under her skirt and were softly massaging her inner thigh.

“How much have you had to drink Javi?” She questioned.

“What does that have to do with anything?” Javier asked back, offended.

“You don’t talk about feelings. Unless you’ve had a few. Remember, that’s how you broke up with me? Got shitfaced and told me that you saw our relationship heading nowhere,” She replied somewhat bitterly.

“…. What if I said that I was lying? That I do see something with you?” Javi inquired after a moment.

“I’d say that I would rather have this conversation when you’re sober and in front of me. Listen. Go sleep honey. I’m proud of you. Call me when you’re sober,” She answered before slowly hanging up.

She gently leaned back into Pacho’s chest with a heavy sigh. “Is Diego still outside?”

“No. Sent him home with Navegante,” Pacho murmured as he slowly began to unzip the back of her dress.

She pulled away then and began walking toward the stairs. “Good. Come upstairs then.”

He followed behind her and as they stepped into her room, she kicked off her shoes. She stepped into her bathroom for a moment to wash off her makeup before anything else.

When she stepped back out into her room, Pacho was sitting on her bed, sans shoes and socks. She slowly slipped the dress off from around her shoulders, before doing a little wiggle as she pulled it down her hips.

She stood in front of him in just her underwear and straddled his hips a moment later. She stared at the shirt he wore, a shirt that was 3 different colors. Not exactly the best looking in her opinion.

“How much… do you like this shirt?” She coyly asked, pulling at the collar with an index finger.

“It’s… alright. Why?” He inquired squinting his eyes at her in suspicion.

She simply reached over to her bedside table, and after a momentary struggle of trying to find it blindly, she found her pocketknife. She flipped it opened and gently held it at the collar of his shirt. She bit her bottom lip softly as she held his shirt firmly in her left hand. She dragged the knife down, the blade slowly ripping the fabric.

Once there was a decent tear in the shirt, she set the knife back down on the table. She then began to pull at the tear, firmly, shredding the shirt down the middle.

The entire time that was going on, Pacho watched her curiously, and was only slightly concerned when she pulled out the knife.

“So, I take it, you didn’t like the shirt?” Pacho joked once she had finished shredding it and was shoving it off his shoulders.

“It’s… it was ugly honey. I’m sorry. But… you can pull off many looks, but this… This is a no,” She slowly responded pressing a small kiss along his collar.

He laughed loudly at her response and just nodded his head. “Understandable. Just know that I can and will get you back for it. Though I will agree. It wasn’t my best.”

She giggled and sighed before sadly stating, “I’m… super tired… I would love to continue this, but I may pass out on you.”

“It’s okay. We can do some catching up in Panama if you wish?” Pacho offered kissing her slowly.

“Yeah. I like the sound of that,” She agreed before getting up to go grab an old band t-shirt to put on and take off her bra.

She could hear Pacho undressing further as well, and once she was in the shirt and her underwear, she turned to see him in just his boxers. They slipped under the covers, and Pacho quietly told her about his day, laying on his side, his head propped up on his arm. When he mentioned the horse ranch she froze.

“Wait. You… you have a ranch… with… with horses???? And you… never told me?” She asked with wide eyes staring at him.

“Yes. Would you like me to take you there sometime this week?” Pacho asked surprised.

“Uh. Yes! I love horses! Grandparents had a horse ranch, and it was the best part of my summers as a kid,” She explained excitedly. “If I had known about the ranch, I wouldn’t have gotten bored. I’d been harassin’ you to take me every day.”

He smiled sadly at her, and he apologized softly, “I’m sorry you got bored. Not going to lie, I’m used to women who love sitting around and doing nothing.”

His hand softly stroked her side as he spoke. She smiled in response, reaching up to run her hand along his jaw.

“It’s not a big deal honey. I’ve been told I’m like a husky, need to be walked 15 times a day or I’ll lose my mind,” She lightly joked.

“Then I’ll make sure you have plenty to do,” Pacho assured as he pulled her closer to him.

She snuggled into his chest, and they slowly fell asleep together.

The next morning, was a blur as they got dressed and ate a quick breakfast. She definitely packed up all her snacks, because she refused to leave her junk food behind.

As they stepped outside, her neighbor, Mrs. Garcia, said hello. She waved at her distractedly as Pacho opened the car door for her.

As they drove out to his house, he mentioned that she could have a car to claim as her own to use. “Just not this one. This one is… special.”

They spent the day at his house and planned a time to go see the horse ranch the next day. It was going to be in the afternoon once Gilberto and Miguel left after their meeting.

The day passed normally, there were no arguments between her and Diego. They even had pleasant conservations throughout the day.

The next morning was a bit chilly, and she threw on a large fleece cardigan over her shorts and tank. As she walked around, she ran into Navegante and politely asked if the brothers had arrived yet.

Navegante informed her, “ _Yes, they’ve been here for about an hour now.”_

She nodded her head in understanding before making her way into the kitchen. She made herself a cup of tea with honey, before grabbing 3 more cups and filling them with black coffee. She threw sugar packets into one pocket of her cardigan and different flavors of creamer packs into the other.

She made her way upstairs, gradually, and into Pacho’s office. The three were standing around the table pouring over a map. She cleared her throat to alert their attention to her.

“ _Sorry to interrupt. Thought some fresh coffee might help?”_ She offered holding them up.

Pacho smiled somewhat tightly but said thank you. She sets the cups down, pulling out the packets of sugar and creamer as her hands became free.

She glanced down at the map, which was of Mexico, and found herself looking at it confused. Most of Mexico was marked off into sectors; the various different territories. Everywhere except one place.

“ _Guadalajara, yes?”_ She confirmed without much thought. “ _Why is the Baja not marked off?”_

Miguel cleared his throat before answering, “ _Guerra. Opium dealer. He owns the Baja. Doesn’t like cocaine.”_

 _“But Gallardo’s probably made him offer right?”_ She guessed looking at all 3 of them.

 _“Yes. He probably has why?”_ Pacho questioned.

 _“You said it yourself. Gallardo’s arrogant. Probably thinks that if he controls all of Mexico, he has you in a checkmate,”_ Blix began to explain. “ _Make Guerra a better offer. Or as Marlon Brando would say, ‘Make him an offer he can’t refuse.’ It’s what I would do.”_

Gilberto smirked at her before grabbing his phone and handing it and a number on a post-it note.

“ _Then do it.”_ His tone was challenging, like he was daring her.

She took both from him slowly, took a deep breath, and called the number. ‘I’m being tested. Well. Let’s see how I do then.”

The phone rang for a moment before someone finally answered.

“ _Hello, may I speak to Mr. Guerra please?”_ She politely requested.

 _“Mr. Guerra isn’t available righ-“_ the man began before Blix cut him off.

 _“Listen. As someone who is clearly an overpaid secretary, I’m calling bullshit. Please tell Guerra that a representative of the Cali Cartel wishes to speak to him. Now,”_ She informed him firmly.

A few minutes passed before another voice, older and gravellier, answered, “ _Guerra speaking. How may I help you?”_

 _“Hello. My name is Blix. My… associates have heard rumors that Gallardo offered to bring you into the cocaine business, yes?_ ” She began and before letting him answer continued. “ _We wish to make you a better offer?”_

 _“Oh? Is that so? What could you possibly offer me?”_ Guerra inquired sounding somewhat agitated.

 _“I’m willing to bet that Gallardo only offered about 10% of the profits. We’d like to give you something a little more than chump change,”_ She offered as she leaned against the table, taking a sip of her tea.

 _“50%”_ Guerra stated.

 _“Guerra. I may have been born at night, but it certainly wasn’t last night. 50% is too high and you know it. Don’t insult my intelligence,”_ She lightly warned. “ _20%”_

 _“Hm. 40%”_ He threw back.

 _“30%.”_ She responded hoping to trick him into going lower.

 _“25%.”_ He threw out before he tried to take it back, stumbling over his words. “ _N-Wa-“_

 _“Deal.”_ She confirmed before he could say anything. “ _One of my associates will be in contact with you to iron out the details, within the next day or so.”_

 _“You are a good businesswoman, I must say. It’s not often I fumble over a deal,”_ Guerra complimented.

 _“For some reason, I just don’t believe that. You knew I wasn’t going to go much higher than 20, you just wanted to see if you could get me to agree to something higher,”_ She responded ignoring the compliment. “ _I would also like to inform you Mr. Guerra, that you should forget about your travel plans to Panama. Wouldn’t want to cause any… conflicts of interest.”_

“ _Ah. An intelligent woman indeed. Good, you’ll need that while working with the cartel,”_ He stated. “ _Gallardo isn’t going to be pleased by this.”_

 _“Gallardo isn’t my concern. Do know this Mr. Guerra. Gallardo will probably at some point retaliate. He’s a prideful man. It’s in his nature. But what he does to you, will be nothing in comparison to what we will do if you try to betray us,”_ She cautioned.

 _“Are you… are you threatening me?”_ He accused.

 _“No. Warning. Because... Gallardo will take revenge, sure. But Cali? No. Revenge is petty. Beneath us,”_ She stated darkly. “ _Accidents however… Accidents can and do happen every day. Like… fires, gas leaks, that sort of thing can happen anywhere, like at your restaurant, your home/ranch, that shitty lil town you’ve proclaimed yourself as king, or your acres of opium. Would be such a shame… if anything happened to your livelihood.”_

It was quiet, but she could hear him breathing, “ _Understood.”_

 _“Good! As I said, earlier, someone will be in touch to finetune the details. Have a lovely day, Mr. Guerra,”_ She ended the call with a perky tone.

She handed the phone back to Gilberto and said, “ _That wasn’t too hard. Enjoy your coffees.”_

She walked away with her tea, toward her room, to get dressed for the afternoon.

Pacho watched her leave with an impressed smirk plastered on his face, his eyes dark as he watched her leave.

“ _Did that… really just happen?”_ Miguel asked in disbelief.

“ _It did indeed. I told you. She has a darkness to her, and I love seeing it_ ,” Pacho grinned, lighting a cigarette. “ _It was also her way of speeding up the meeting so we can go to the ranch_.”

The brothers laughed and soon enough their meeting had ended. As soon as it was over, he walked down to Blix’s room. He leaned against the door-jam as he watched her get ready. She was slipping on a pair of cowboy boots when she noticed him standing there.

“Oh? Done so soon?” She greeted happily, walking over to him.

As she stepped up to him, he pulled her close and kissing her passionately.

“Wow. What uh… what was that for? Not that I’m complaining,” She wondered breathlessly, when they pulled apart a moment later.

“ _You are very sexy. Even moreso when threatening men. Couldn’t help myself,”_ He whispered to her.

She shook her head at him before excitedly asking, “ _So the ranch? Horses?”_

He nodded, laughing at her as she bounced up and down in front of him, like a child.

They made their way down to his car, and off they went to the ranch. The ranch was only 20 minutes from his home and as they pulled up her excitement ramped up.

She was out the door before he could even turn the car off. She rushed up to the stalls and began excitedly talking to both the horses and the stable hands that were working.

Pacho slowly walked up behind her and listened to her coo to the horses as she ran her hands down their faces.

They spent several hours there, half of it spent with her in awe of each horse, and the other half was her riding around the stables on some of the horses.

Lunch was served late there, and as they ate, he commented, “ _If I had known the ranch would make you so happy, I would’ve brought you sooner. Don’t think I’ve seen you smile so much.”_

 _“I smile? What do you mean?”_ She asked confused as she looked at him taking a sip of the daiquiri that he insisted on making her.

“ _I mean, that since the second we pulled up, you haven’t stopped smiling. You smiled even when Rowdy tried to eat your shirt. It’s quite beautiful to see you so happy,”_ He further explained with a fond smile.

She looked down, a light blush gracing her cheeks.

“ _You mentioned last night that your grandparents had a ranch? What happened there?”_ Pacho asked curiously.

“ _The short story? My grandparents died, and my mother didn’t want to deal with it,”_ She explained quietly as looked away.

“ _And the long story?”_ Pacho lightly probed, his hand reaching out to hold hers.

“ _My sisters and I… we loved it. It was the best 2 to 3 weeks of our summer. Spending our time at the ranch. Training horses. My grandfather had show and race horses. We would trade off each day on who we would work with on what_.” She began thinking about to it fondly.

“ _When they died, my mother wanted nothing to do with it. Sold off the horses. Fired the workers. Cut down the apple orchard we had opened for the public to go apple picking. The barns have been hit hard with storms, and my mother didn’t care to fix them. If she could she would’ve sold the land as well_ ,” She explained rather sadly.

“ _Why didn’t she_?” Pacho inquired.

“ _Grandparents left it in their will that the ranch was to go to us. That when we were old enough, we could decide who would run it. That the land could only be sold by us if we all agreed to. So, my mother found a loophole around it. Can’t have much of a ranch if there’s nothing there_ ,” She concluded with a half shrug.

“ _I’m sorry your mother stole that from you and your siblings_ ,” Pacho consoled as he lifted her hand to press a kiss to it.

She didn’t respond beyond shrugging and letting out a small sigh.

“ _So. Tonight we leave for Panama yeah_?” Blix changed the subject.

He nodded his head, and reported, “ _Yes. We leave on a late flight, check into our hotel, and then meet with Gallardo tomorrow at noon. In fact, we should probably head back, and pack up_.”

They did just that, got home, packed, and she met a few other members, like Salcedo, and a couple of guards going with them.

The flight to Panama was swift, and soon they were in their hotel room, resting. Morning came around, and as they made their way to the hotel where Gallardo was at, Pacho made a quick explanation.

“ _When we get there, if you could please wait downstairs for 20 minutes. I doubt the meeting shall take very long, but I would prefer it if you did not get involved any more than you have. I’ll have a guard with you, just go shopping or something. I’ll come retrieve you,”_ He informed her as they pulled up to the hotel.

She raised an eyebrow and decided she wasn’t going to argue about this, right now. She got out and with her newly grown shadow in the form of a 30 something year old man named Thierry; she wandered the shops.

She came across a jewelry store and waltzed in, looking at everything bored. Something eventually caught her eye as she made her way over to the men’s jewelry.

As she looked at it, a small smile grew on her face. A store assistant came over and asked if he could help her.

“ _Yes. Can I see that necklace please?”_ She politely asked pointing at it.

He reached in and grabbed the necklace, displaying it in the palm of his hand.

She inspected it closely and hesitantly said, “ _Umm. That necklace has a small scratch on it… would there happen to be anything similar to it?”_

A manager happened to be walking by and overheard the conversation. He inspected the necklace and spotted the imperfection before telling the employee to put it with the discount items somewhat annoyed.

“ _Come this way ma’am. I’m sure this one over here will please you greatly,”_ He schmoozed in a hoity manner, giving her a look.

He brought her over to another display case and pulled out a similar necklace. She nodded her head, stating, “ _Yeah. This one is much better. How much?”_

“$ _647.32. In American dollars.”_ He answered in a mockingly sad tone.

She reached into her bag and pulled out the envelope that her tips from the brothers in it. She counted out 650 and told him to keep the change. He tightly smiled and boxed it up before handing it to her.

She rolled her eyes at his attitude and made her way back out to her guard.

“Just because your item got fucked up, doesn’t mean you need to get all snooty about it,” She muttered under her breath annoyed.

She continued exploring, getting slowly more and more annoyed with her babysitter, since he kept trying to steer her over to the elevators. She eventually made her way through a large crowd and lost him after a moment.

She noticed as she walked further on that there was an art auction going on in one of the conference rooms that was open to the public.

As she strolled that way, she ran into 2 men, one of whom she had seen pictures of.

“ _Mr. Gallardo. That was quick, I hope Pacho wasn’t too cruel with you,”_ She greeted as she blinked at him.

“ _No. Not at all miss?”_ He prompted.

 _“Blix. I hear you enjoy art; would you like to join me in viewing the auction?”_ She politely asked before turning to the other man with him. “ _Hello. You can join us as well Mr.?”_

 _“Amado. I’ll just.. wait here. Thanks.”_ He declined with a nod of his head.

Felix and she made their way into the auction and began looking over the art. Blix stared at some items with intensity, and Felix who did look at the art, was more intrigued by the woman next to him.

“ _So, you are with the Cali? A bit odd for a federal agent, no?”_ Felix questioned, looking at her curiously.

“ _Hm. It’s… an interesting arrangement let’s just go with that. Besides. They are not my concern. Not my division as it were,”_ She replied meeting his eyes.

“ _Yes. I heard you were in art crimes,”_ Felix acknowledged as they made their way through a section of impressionist art.

“ _Yes. Art is quite fascinating. Horace once said that a picture was a poem without words,”_ Blix noted. “ _That picture in my opinion can mean anything. There’s always something that speaks to you. Whether it’s religious, political, or personal. Art is a reflection of you.”_

They stopped near a canvas that had a weeping willow tree, the vines covered in ice.

“ _Take this for example. To you it’s simply a tree. To me… it reminds me of my childhood home. We had willows everywhere_ ,” She said as an example. “ _Art, no matter the format, is an extension of you. Extension of your personality.”_

He smiled at her and nodded, and before he could respond, they heard a throat clear behind them. As they turned to it, Pacho stood there, with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“ _Uh-oh. It appears I’m in trouble. It was a pleasure to meet you Mr. Gallardo,”_ She whispered conspiratorially holding her hand out to shake.

He took it and instead of shaking it, kissed the back of it. “ _The pleasure was mine. I do hope Mr. Herrera brings you out to our meetings more often.”_

He walked away and met up with Amado, before disappearing.

Blix quietly followed Pacho who she could tell was fuming. His shoulders were tensed, and he was breathing roughly.

They made their way back to their hotel in silence. They even left that night instead of staying like they originally planned.

As they stepped over the threshold of his home, she finally broke the tension, “Are you going to stay mad at me forever? Or are you going to finally tell me what’s wrong?”

“I had the guard with you for a reason. He was there to protect you. Instead of doing what I asked you not only ignored it, but put yourself onto Gallardo’s radar, for no reason” He fumed, glaring at her.

“I am a federal agent. I can take care of myself. I do not need a guard or protection. I can protect myself quite well. Been doing so for a very long time,” She reminded him.

“As for Gallardo, I ran into him by accident. I didn’t seek him out. I figured he knew who I was, which he did, and I was just being polite. That’s it,” She reassured.

He took a deep breath, looking away. “I don’t like you putting yourself in unnecessary danger. If he had decided to retaliate against me, using you…” 

She stepped up to him, placing her hands on his chest, and soothed, “But he didn’t. I’m still here. Annoyed that we didn’t stay in Panama, especially after I got you something, but still here.”

He placed his hands on her hips, and said, “Oh? You did? What?”

“Not giving it to you now. You were a brat. I’ll give it to ya when you’ve earned it,” She teased as she walked away.

Pacho raised an eyebrow at that comment and chased after her, grabbing her around the waist and throwing her over his shoulder.

“ _A brat eh? Takes one to know I think,”_ Pacho mocked, smacking her on the ass.

“ _Really? Did you seriously just?”_ She asked in disbelief, before smacking his butt in return. “ _Turnabout is fair play.”_

He carried her upstairs, both of them laughing at each other, before he decided to make it up to her all night long.

A few days had passed, and she still had yet to give Pacho the necklace she got him. He was convinced it was a watch. It wasn’t until a package arrived for her at Pacho’s house that she decided to give him the gift. Especially when she realized that the gift was from Gallardo. It was the painting of the willow tree that they had looked at together.

The painting came with a note, “ _It was a pleasure speaking you, my lady. I hope we can talk more soon.”_

Pacho was annoyed by its presence. So, she pulled out the velvet box that held his necklace in it, hoping it would soothe things over.

He was sitting at his desk in his office when she walked in. She moved over to him and gently sat in his lap, presenting the box to him. He opened it slowly.

“ _A crocodile?”_ Pacho questioned confused.

“ _I don’t know jackshit about watches, so don’t ever expect one from me. But I do know that in most ancient cultures, the crocodile is one of the few animals that was revered. They’ve been worshipped longer than God. Deified for well over a millennium,”_ She began to explain as she took it out of the box.

“ _They represent duality. Tough enough to withstand bullets, but do not do well with criticism. They are precise with every move they make and see opportunities where others cannot. They are cunning, strong, brave, and dependable. That’s what I see when I look at you,”_ She described as she hooked it around his neck.

“ _So, my primordial being, do not bother yourself with the opinions of sheep or the thoughts of lesser men. I certainly don’t,”_ She requested with a kiss. _“I want you to wear it for good luck. Protection.”_

Her phone at that point began to ring, and she stared at the number slightly confused, for she did not recognize it. She answered it after a moment. “ _Hello?”_

“ _Hello Miss Lage. This is Felix Gallardo,” Came the response._

 _“Oh. Mr. Gallardo, how are you?”_ She replied turning to Pacho with a wide eye look. His returning look was with narrowed eyes, and a tense jaw.

 _“I simply wanted to make sure that painting arrived safely,”_ He informed softly.

 _“Yes. Yes, it did. I was hoping to be able to thank you in person, but this works too. It’s quite lovely,”_ She thanked, wondering where this was heading.

 _“Good. I must say, I was a bit hesitant to get it for you, since you looked at it so sadly, but then I saw a glimmer of something, that… I could relate to,”_ Felix admitted. “ _I saw a longing. For home. I often get that way myself thinking about Sinaloa.”_

 _“Home? Not necessarily. Simpler times, more like. Haven’t missed home in quite some time,”_ She lightly argued.

 _“Hm. It is rather interesting, though. The things we would do for those we consider home. Safe. Like threatening an opium dealer to cut a deal for your lover. Guerra said he spoke to a charming young lady. Would hate for anything to befall said lady, for sticking her nose into business she does not belong in,”_ He vaguely threatened.

 _“Well. Mr. Gallardo. I would simply say that I can take care of myself. I’ve dealt with plenty of villains, Felix, and I hate to break it to you, but I’ve faced scarier. Have a lovely day,”_ She hung up the phone after that.

 _“Villains? You mean… your mother?”_ Pacho tried to clarify.

 _“Let’s just say, ruining a ranch, was nowhere the worst thing she ever did to me,”_ She whispered vaguely gesturing at her face.

 _“I see. Well then. I guess it’s a good thing you are mine. Anyone tried to harm you, they’d be dead,”_ He promised after a moment of silence, fully understanding what she was implying.

She smiled sweetly at him, and they spent the rest of the day talking about his work. He was giving her a glimpse into his world and how it worked. That to her was a level of trust she wasn’t expecting, but she appreciated it, nonetheless.

Neither of them were aware of the chaos that was about to unfold, due to the events going on in Medellin. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A party that leads to Blix meeting Escobar and Augustus Konig. There is some more detailed sex written, no allusions to it.

A week had passed, and she was back to work. Another informant came into play and informed them about a possible warehouse that König was using. Problem was all they knew was that it was in downtown Cali, and there were… several warehouses to say the least.

_“How many warehouses are there?” Blix asked with an exasperated sigh, running her thumb and index finger over her brow._

_“56. And that’s just in the downtown area alone. Surrounding areas that number is more like 166,” Theo rattled out the numbers._

_“Alright. Let me see if I can find some maps and start marking off the ones that can’t be his. Uhh see if you can also narrow it down by taking out the Colombian owned establishments,” Blix noted as she paced in the living room._

_“Should I be looking for German owned?” Theo questioned._

_“German and Austrian. K_ _ö_ _nig might have something in both,” Blix specified._

_“Why Austrian?” Theo asked, typing noises could be heard in the background over the phone._

_“K_ _ö_ _nig’s Austrian. Austrian people do not tend to like being lumped in with German. So, cover our bases, look for both. It’s a long shot, but let’s see,” She explained. “Let me know what you find out.”_

_“Will do,” Theo signed off._

_Blix sighed as she hung up the phone. She was currently at home and was trying to figure out what her next step should be._

_As she was thinking, a knock was heard against her front door. She made her way to the front door, opening it._

_She smiled as she realized it was Pacho standing before her, with a small bouquet of flowers._

_“_ _Hi. Catch you at a bad time, dear?”_ _Pacho inquired taking in her state of dress, aka her pajamas._

_“_ _No. Come in. Was just makin’ some phone calls. Are those for me?”_ _She excitedly asked as she looked at red roses._

_He nodded his head with a smile, handing them to her. She immediately brought them up to her face to smell them, and to hide the silly grin she had. She whispered a thank you and motioned for him to come in, shutting the door behind him as he did so._

_She looked at him and noticed he looked a bit worn out. There were dark circles under his eyes, and there was just a weariness to him._

_She sat the flowers down onto her coffee table and led him over to her couch. She laid down on the couch, motioning for him to join her. He softly smiled and laid down on top of her, resting his head on her chest._

_“_ _Sleep honey. You look tired. I’ll wake you up in a bit,”_ _Blix softly told him, as she began to run her fingers through his hair._

_“_ _You are quite comfy,”_ _Pacho noted pressing a kiss to the center of her chest, as he settled in._

_“_ _I’ve been told that a few times. So glad to know my chest makes a lovely pillow,”_ _She replied with a smile._

_He chuckled softly, leaning into her hand as it continued to brush his hair. The soft movements of her hand eventually lulled him to sleep._

_She laid there with him for about an hour, before her phone began to ring. She gently reached over to grab it, bringing it closer for her to answer._

_“Hello?” She answered softly, trying to not wake Pacho up._

_“_ _Hey, thought you’d like to know, Marcos was arrested for conspiracy and tampering with evidence amongst other things. He will no longer be on your team,”_ _Came Horacio’s voice._

_“_ _Good to know. Did he mess up any of your cases?”_ _She asked curiously._

_“_ _Only a couple, and nothing that can’t be fixed. How are you? How is your cartel situation going?”_ _He inquired, concerned._

_“_ _It’s settled for now. I think they finally realized I’m not a threat to them, haven’t heard from them since,”_ _She lightly fibbed as Pacho lifted his head up to look at her._

_“_ _Don’t get too relaxed, they may perceive that as an opening. Stay safe okay?”_ _Horacio signed off._

_“_ _I will. Don’t worry,”_ _She replied as she hung up._

_Pacho propped himself up onto one of his elbows, before parroting, “’Not a threat?’ Hmm. I don’t know about that. You can be quite dangerous.”_

_She giggled at him, as they both sat up and stretched. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow, glancing between her and the phone._

_“Horacio. Informing me that my little spy is gone. Now, I get to spend the rest of my time looking at city maps, trying to figure out which of the almost 200 warehouses, K_ _ö_ _nig is hiding the stolen art. Yay,” She informed him with a groan. “I hate staring at maps. So much.”_

_“_ _Come to work with me,”_ _He suggested standing up, offering his hand to her._

_“_ _Work? What work? What do you mean?”_ _She asked confused as she stood up._

_“_ _Go get dressed and you’ll see,”_ _He responded vaguely._

_She stared at him with suspicion and confusion as she made her way upstairs. She quickly got dressed into a pair of grey dress pants, a green silk blouse, with a matching grey blazer. She threw on some black pumps and made her way downstairs grabbing what she needed on her way out to the car._

_He opened the car door for her and once they were both in, he drove off. He drove until they reached the financial district of downtown Cali and parked in front of a large bank._

_She looked at him confused, moving her head back and forth, looking from the building to him._

_“_ _We have several legitimate businesses. This is one of them. C’mon,”_ _He explained with a smirk._

_He stepped out of the car and made his way over to her as she got out as well. He offered her his arm, which she took, and he led her inside._

_They made their way over to the elevator, and once it had arrived, got on. He pressed a button for the top floor and turned to her. A slow teasing smile appeared on his face, as he moved closer, pinning her to the wall._

_“_ _This seems familiar, no?”_ _He teased, brushing his nose against hers before pressing a kiss to her lips._

_She rolled her eyes, smiling, as she kissed back. He stayed in that position until they reached their floor. He stepped back, taking her hand in his, pulling her out._

_There was a large conference room to the right where she noticed Gilberto was presenting to several other men._

_Pacho led her down to a corner office that overlooked a great deal of the financial district._

_“This is mine and Chepe’s office. But Chepe isn’t here very often, so you can use his desk to work if you’d like?” He offered showing her to one of the desks that sat in the office._

_“_ _I’ll be right back. We have several maps, that could be very useful for you. Don’t wander off,”_ _Pacho said over his shoulder as he exited._

_She walked over to the large window and stared outside. They were pretty high up, but by no means the tallest building there._

_“_ _Hello Blix, how are you today?”_ _She heard Miguel’s voice greet._

_She briefly looked back before responding, “_ _Not bad. You?”_

_“Can’t complain,”_ _He replied as he stepped up next to her._

_“So. From bank robbers to bank owners, eh? Quite the turnaround,”_ _She mused quietly._

_Miguel chuckled, “_ _Indeed.”_

_“_ _Blix. I must speak to you quite frankly, if I may?”_ _He began after a moment of silence. “_ _Pacho bringing you here, means he trusts you quite a bit. He’s not one to trust easily, I hope you know that. The further he lets you into our world, the further you move away from being a federal agent who upholds the law. I hope you understand what exactly you are getting into. Because this life is not for the fickle, or the weak. Don’t let him fall for you if all you have planned is to betray him.”_

_She listened to his speech, quietly._

_“_ _Then let me assure you… I don’t plan to betray him. If I did, I would’ve done so long before this point. I care about him…far more than I probably should,”_ _She remarked looking him in the eye._

_“_ _Am I interrupting something?”_ _Pacho asked curiously as he walked back in, holding a few rolled-up maps._

_“_ _No. Was just asking if you had told her of tonight’s party in Medellin?”_ _Miguel smoothly lied as he backed away from her._

_“A party? In Medellin?” She repeated confused._

_Miguel smiled secretively and made his way out of the office closing the door behind him. Pacho, after setting the maps down answered her, “_ _Yes. Was wondering if you’d like to join me?”_

_“Would Diego also be joining you?”_ _She asked biting her lip._

_“Yes. I want both of my favorites with me tonight. Is that a problem?”_ _Pacho inquired concerned._

_She shook her head, “_ _Who all will be there_ _?”_

_“_ _Us. Pablo Escobar and a few of his men. Guadalajara_ _,” He listed off as he stood next to her._

_She nodded and said, “_ _So…Do they know I’m a fed, or is that gonna be a surprise for some people? Cause… I really don’t want to have to deal with some trigger-happy fool pointing a gun at me.”_

“ _Oh. They know. Well aware of you, in fact. Some of them may even try to steal you from me_ ,” He teased kissing her cheek.

She shook her head at him, before looking down at the pile of maps before them.

“ _So, what are these maps of_?” She asked curiously.

“ _These are maps of the city, including warehouses and the name of the companies that own them_ ,” Pacho explained with a smile. “ _Figured these could help you out_.”

She smiled at him gratefully and began to unroll some of the maps. As they poured over the maps before them, she would make notes on warehouses to check out. She had a decent list after about 2 hours and decided to call Theo to have him check them out first.

It was just past 1pm when they decided to take a break. They had sandwiches ordered and were eating them, talking quietly. He sat at his desk, while she sat on top of it.

“ _So. What was Miguel really talking to you about? I know he wasn’t talking to you about the party_ ,” Pacho prodded, squeezing her calf, soothing his hand over her leg.

“ _We were talking about you. He wanted me to know that the further I get involved with you, the further away I get from being a federal agent_ ,” She explained with a shrug.

“ _Does the thought of coming to tonight’s party bother you_?” He inquired after a moment.

“ _No. I mean… I’m not thrilled at the idea of being around so many cartel members, but I like you. Gilberto and Miguel wouldn’t let anything happen to me due to our deal. I can swallow my pride and deal with a silly party. Though, not sure why you guys pretend you like each other?”_ She questioned with a pointed stare.

He snorted and shook his head.

“ _If you are sure you’re fine with it, then we should head home and get ready. We leave at 5:30 for Medellin_ ,” He remarked standing up, offering his hand to her.

She took it, standing up as well. He led her out, passing Gilberto on their way out. He smiled and pressed a kiss to her cheek, asking if she was going to join them this evening, to which she nodded her head yes.

“ _Excellent! I’m sure you will have a blast!”_ Gilberto exclaimed before his attention was called down the hall.

They continued on, making their way downstairs and to his car. About 45 mins later they were pulling up to his house. He led her up to her room, where a box was waiting on her bed.

“ _I hope everything is to your liking. I picked it out,”_ Pacho said pressing a kiss to her hand.

Blix smiled at him, before making her way into the bathroom to shower really quick. Once she was cleaned, she dried her hair, and curled it.

She stepped out into her room and made her way over to the box in just her towel. She opened the box and gasped at the dress she saw there. She softly ran her hands over the material, admiring the oranges and blues. She pulled it out and noted she wasn’t going to be able to wear a bra with it.

She got dressed and began to put on her makeup. She kept her makeup simple, eyeshadow to match the dress, a pink lipstick, and mascara.

She inspected the box and found shoes to match, alongside a small velvet box. She looked at it curiously, reaching for it. She opened it to see a note sticking out.

“ _You said I reminded you of a crocodile. I know most others liken you to a fox, but that is not what I see. I see a shark. A beautiful, and deadly creature. Female sharks tend to be the fiercest, they have scars from fights, mating. They wear them proudly, as should you. I hope you wear this with pride. -Pacho”_

She looked down at the necklace, it was a gold necklace, done in the same style as the crocodile, but it was a shark. There was a set of earrings to go along with it, shaped like shark teeth. She bit her lip, torn between smiling or crying. She puts them on, her hand slightly shaking, causing her to struggle for a moment.

She stood in front of the mirror and looked at the necklace, admiring it. She slipped on her shoes, realizing it was almost 4:45pm and they would be leaving soon.

She took a deep breath as she grabbed her purse and checked that she had her necessary items.

She walked downstairs and saw of the guards hanging out in the living room, Diego among them. Diego was in a classy pale blue suit, with a peach-colored shirt.

“ _I see we match_ ,” She noted as she made her way over to him.

He turned to her; his mouth opened to respond but he stopped as soon as he saw her. He stared at her in surprise.

“ _What? Do I have something in my teeth? Do I look bad_?” She asked worriedly trying to figure out what he was staring at.

“ _Damn. If I was straight, I’d have to fight Pacho for you_ ,” He commented with a small laugh.

She shook her head, before noticing someone she hadn’t seen before walk in. He had short curls, light colored eyes, and looked younger than most of the men here.

He walked up to Diego greeting him, before turning to her.

“ _Hello. Wow. Tell me… did it hurt when you fell from Heaven? For surely, I am looking at angel,”_ He flirted without hesitation.

“ _No. I crawled out of Hell. Diego, who is this?”_ She asked unamused, glancing over at him, rolling her eyes as she noticed he was giggling.

“ _C’mon. I’m not a photographer, but I can picture me and you together,”_ He continued on smiling, and stepping closer.

She stepped back and felt herself run into someone behind her.

“ _Woah. You good?”_ Came Pacho’s voice, as he reached out to steady her.

“Who is this child, because imma ‘bout to hurt his feelings,” Blix muttered to him. “and maybe his face.”

She could feel his chest shake with laughter.

“ _He’s my brother_. _Blix, this is Alvaro. Alvaro this is Blix, stop trying to flirt with her, she’s mine,”_ He warned still laughing. “ _He’s staying here for a few days.”_

She quietly mouthed a small “oh.”

Despite the explanation, she still tucked herself into his side, staring at Alvaro with mild annoyance.

“ _Oh. Oh! This is the girl you keep talking about? Wow. I think she might be too pretty for you, brother,”_ Alvaro teased, slapping his arm.

Pacho smiled, and stared down at Blix, saying, “ _You might be right, little brother.”_

Blix could feel her cheeks warm up a smidge at the compliment and looked down and away.

She cleared her throat, “ _Ahem. Umm. I think we should probably get going, yeah? Don’t want to be late?_ ”

Pacho nodded and as he stepped away, she took in his outfit. He wore a dark blue silk shirt with black trousers.

She leaned over to Diego, and murmured, “ _Are we supposed to be his flames? Cause… not sure how to feel about that._ ”

She looked at him, and he her, both of them taking in each other’s outfits before staring at his.

“ _Not sure. Feel similarly to be honest_ ,” Diego whispered back.

Pacho at that moment turned and looked back at them curiously, and they both just simply smiled.

Once Pacho left some orders for his men that were staying there, they were on their way to the airport. They met up with Gilberto and Miguel and were soon off to Medellin.

She was introduced to Salcedo, their head of security and a few others on their trip.

It didn’t take long to arrive in Medellin but when they did, the gravity of it slowly hit her as they drove to the middle of nowhere. She tried not to show her nervousness but internally she was panicking.

She was fidgeting a bit, twisting her fingers into the material of the dress and then untwisting them. Diego, who was sitting next to her, while Pacho sat near the brothers speaking lowly, noticed the behavior. He quietly reached over, and took her hand into his, and simply held it.

She looked over at him, and noticed he wasn’t even looking at her, but keeping up with his conversation with Salcedo. She took a slow, deep breath and gave his hand a small squeeze in appreciation.

Sooner than she wanted to, they had arrived at large home, where numerous cars were parked. They all stepped out, her and Diego, took a side and walked in with Pacho. He had an arm around both of them and smiled politely at everyone that greeted him. As they made their way to the backyard, the party was in full swing.

She saw many cartel members and could even see Felix standing near Pablo Escobar, talking. Pacho gave the both of them a kiss on the cheek and told them to go mingle.

Diego disappeared immediately after, and Blix was left standing there going, “Seriously?”

She rubbed at her neck, feeling awkward and not quite sure what to do. She walked over to the bar, ordered a drink, and took a seat far away from everyone. She slowly sipped at her glass of bourbon and watched with mild amusement as people openly snorted cocaine and dance.

It had been about 20 minutes before she heard her phone ring in her purse. She quickly pulled it out and answered it.

“Hey, what’s up?” She greeted recognizing Theo’s number.

“We struck gold. On that list you gave us, only 2 of the warehouses were built within the past 2 years. One of them, is owned by some big-time corporation. The other? Can’t find the name of the owner, beyond dummy shell corporations,” Theo explained happily.

“Hm. Wonder whoever could that be? Let’s check it out on Monday. See if we can catch a glimpse of our “mystery owner.” Theo. Go rest. You’ve earned your paycheck,” Blix complimented smiling.

“Ha. Thanks. Speaking of… The director called to talk to me the other day… apparently, I was recommended for a pay raise and promotion. Wouldn’t…know anything about that…would you?” he asked slyly.

“Wow. Congrats. And noooo I have no idea who would think you deserve the world and are an amazing partner. So weird,” Blix replied feigning innocence.

“Uh huh. See ya Monday, boss,” He ended the call.

She turned off her phone and set it back in her purse. As she looked up, she noticed a few men staring at her curiously. She raised an eyebrow, and mouthed, “What?”

They turned away slowly, returning to their business.

She was about halfway through her drink when a small voice said, “ _You’re really pretty.”_

She looked down to see a young girl: Pablo’s daughter Manuela.

“ _Ya know, here I was thinking the same thing about you!”_ She complimented, turning to her, her head propped up on her fist.

She smiled brightly and then asked excitedly, “ _Do you like bunnies?”_

 _“Bunnies? Yes, of course,”_ She answered matching her energy.

Her smile grew bigger and she held her hand for her to take. Blix does so, letting her then drag her away from her seat. Manuela pulled her through the crowd, eventually leading her to where Pablo, Felix, Pacho, Gilberto, Miguel and several others were standing around talking business.

She pulled her through the group of men not caring.

“ _I’m either being led to bunnies or my death, if I’m not back in 5 minutes, send help,”_ She quickly said to Pacho as she was led past him.

She heard multiple men laugh in response, as she was led to a secluded section of the garden. In this section, there was a large pen, where there were several bunnies roaming about.

“ _This is Mr. Bun Bun, he’s the sweetest,”_ She explained handing her a large orange and white bunny.

Blix took him into her arms, and gently held him as Manuela began to introduce her to everyone else.

She ooh’ed and ahh’ed with each one that was presented and giggled at the descriptors she gave them.

About three minutes had passed by the time she was done. “ _Thank you for introducing me to all of them. And you are right, Mr. Bun Bun is the sweetest. He’s been very calm in my hands,”_

She laughed before taking Mr. Bun Bun away, stating that it was his bedtime.

Blix nodded in understanding, and waved goodbye to them as they walked back up to the party. They stopped yet again in the middle of the group meeting, and Manuela told her to wait there.

She does so, lightly dusting off the bunny hairs that were clinging to her.

“ _I tell you to mingle and you wind up talking with a child, how did that happen lovely?”_ Pacho teased next to her.

She shrugged, not knowing what to say. Manuela came back to her, holding a plate with two cupcakes on it.

She gently held one out to her, and said, “ _My momma made these, they are red velvet and chocolate.”_

Blix squatted down, muttering, “How does this child know my one weakness?”

She took the one held out to her and said, “ _Thank you very much. Is this the chocolate or the red velvet?”_

 _“Red velvet. Chocolate’s my favorite,”_ She explained taking a bite out of hers.

 _“I see. Good to know,”_ Blix replied gently taking a bite out of hers.

She was immediately hit by the almost sickly-sweet taste of it. She could tell something was off because the texture was also a bit lumpy.

“ _Did you help your momma make them?”_ She politely asked, tried to keep her smile.

“ _I did! Do they taste good?”_ Manuela asked excitedly.

 _“So good I might not be able to eat another otherwise I’ll be up all night,”_ She commented with a laugh, as she struggled not to spit it out in front of her.

Manuela smiled and then ran off.

As soon as she was out of sight, Blix stood up turned to Pacho and took the napkin that he had under his drink and spat out the bite. She quickly wiped her tongue off, shuddering.

She quickly threw it and the cupcake into a nearby trashcan.

“ _That was… disgusting_. _Ugh. I,”_ She shook her head, stealing Pacho’s drink as well, chugging it to get the taste out.

Pacho was trying not to laugh at her. “ _You okay, honey?”_

“ _No offense Mr. Escobar, but uhh… I think Tata needs to me more mindful of Manuela’s assisting. That was… no good,”_ She lightly said looking over at him.

“ _Oh? You think it was bad, eh?”_ Pablo asked in a neutral tone, staring at her with his hands hooked into his belt.

She noticed some of the others had slightly tensed at his response as well. She knew this could go in one of two ways; either he killed her or respected her. She took in his stance, before turning to face him directly. She even stepped closer to him, taking his challenge head on.

“ _Sir. I’ve lived on the streets and eaten literal garbage. None of which made me want to rip out my tastebuds faster than whatever that cupcake was,”_ She answered looking him in the eye.

He stared back, and for a moment she was worried he would try something, but instead he laughed.

She was not expecting it, and leaned back as he did, watching him wearily.

“ _I like your honesty. I should’ve warned you to not eat the red velvets cause that’s the one she helped with the most. Tata made the chocolate ones by herself and are safer to eat,”_ He explained through his chuckles.

She nodded in response but did not think she was going to try anymore cupcakes.

“ _I’ll uhh… let you get back to your conversation,”_ She said before walking away still shuddering slightly over the taste.

As she made her way back over to her seat where her purse still sat, Pablo looked over to Gilberto and said, “ _So, that’s your little federal agent, eh? She’s pretty.”_

 _“Sure she can handle this life? She could barely handle a cupcake?”_ Came Gustavo’s voice, Pablo’s cousin, as he watched her walk away.

 _“Yes. She can. Don’t underestimate her. She’s a shark,”_ Pacho advocated giving Gustavo a cold look.

Back with Blix, she was about to sit back down when Diego grabbed her arm.

“ _Yes?”_ She acknowledged as he then dragged her over to the dancefloor.

“ _You are starting to make people nervous just sitting there. So, you are going to dance with me and act like you’re enjoying the party,”_ He informed her as he took her to the middle of the floor.

“ _I’m making people nervous? How? If anyone should be nervous, it should be me?_ ” She argued as he took her arms and began to try and dance with her.

However, she refused to move, so he was mostly just moving her arms every which way.

“ _C’mon. I know you can dance, just let loose, will ya?”_ Diego pleaded as he danced goofily in front of her.

She sighed and rolled her eyes, before slowly moving with him. Kokomo by the Beach Boys was playing, and as it led up to the chorus, they began to have more fun. He would twirl her all about, causing her to laugh a few times.

“ _There you go. See? You’re having fun now,”_ He ribbed with a smile.

They danced to a couple of a songs before she got winded and needed a quick break. She walked over to food table with him and grabbed a small bite.

“ _So, tell me… how often do these peaceful little shindigs happen? I assume not very, since all of them get along about as well as fire and gasoline,”_ She asked about curiously.

“ _Ha. Not very. Gilberto and Miguel themselves, do not often gather the members of the Cali, unless it’s for something very important. They don’t like to draw unnecessary attention to themselves,”_ Diego explained briefly taking a bite of some chips and salsa.

Blix snorted lightly at that and rolled her eyes a bit. She started to ask him something else, when there was a tap on her shoulder.

She turned to it and saw that it was Amado trying to gain her attention.

“ _Hello Amado,”_ She greeted with a smile.

“ _Would you like to dance with me, Miss Blix?”_ He politely asked with a charming smile.

She nodded and handed her plate to Diego “ _Don’t eat my food please.”_

He rolled his eyes handing the plate to Navegante who had joined him.

Tango music was playing, and she followed his lead, easily.

“ _Not going to lie… I’m surprised you are able to keep up with me,”_ Amado commented as he twirled her.

“ _Was a dancer for a good portion of my childhood, picked it up a bit again when I was an adult. Not really that hard to keep up, when you have a good dance partner,”_ She replied as she spun back to him.

He smiled at her, and as the song came to a close, he dipped her. As she straightened back up, he leaned down and whispered into her ear.

She shook her head at him, nodding over to Pacho as she replied back. He bowed and walked away at that.

Blix walked back over to Diego and Navegante, taking back her plate. Both of them looked at her curiously, and she just shrugged, and began to walk over to Pacho.

As she walked, another man came up alongside her, that she recognized as La Quica. He asked her for a dance, and she declined.

She kept walking to her destination, ignoring La Quica’s questions which got more and more irritating.

When she was finally standing near them, she heard La Quica call her a dumb bitch.

She stopped dead in her tracks, and slowly turned around to look at him.

“ _No one’s ever accused me of being dumb. In fact, why don’t I answer your questions…. After I put you in your place,”_ She stated stepping closer, her voice sickly sweet.

She then using the palm of her hand, punched him in the nose, causing him to tear. She stuck a leg, causing him then to trip and fall down. Once he was down, she slowly walked up to him, pressing her foot against his throat.

“ _No. I don’t like you or want to go anywhere with you. That “fruitcake” you were talking about? His name is Pacho, I know you know it. Stop being disrespectful. And honey… let me tell you a thing… he can satisfy me QUITE well. Just ask his guards, I’m sure they’ve heard my screams plenty of times,”_ She snarled at him, her foot pressing down further with each answer.

“ _In fact, I now have so much hatred built inside of me, that I cannot unleash on you, because this is supposed to be a peaceful event. So... maybe I should thank you, because when I go home with that man over there,”_ She pointed directly at him before continuing. “ _He will rail me long and hard, because that’s how good he is. So, thanks. You’ve made my night.”_

She could hear several men either laugh or exclaim in response.

Blix removed her foot and squatted down next to him as he sputtered and coughed.

She then lowly said to him, “ _Insult him again, and I will gut you, without hesitation. Got it?”_

She straightened up, walked over to Pacho and said, “ _You owe me a dance. C’mon.”_

She took his hand into hers and led him to the dance floor. The song was slow, so she wrapped her arms around his neck, and his around her waist.

“ _I…can’t believe you said that,”_ Pacho laughed, as he pulled her in close.

“ _It’s true though. You satisfy me quite well. Why would I want any other man here?”_ She posed, leaning up on her tippy toes to kiss his cheek.

“ _Is that what Amado whispered to you?”_ He inquired his hands running up and down her back, slowly.

“ _He asked me if I was doing anything tonight. I told him you_ ,” She answered truthfully.

He began to laugh and shake his head.

“ _You are ridiculous, but I love it. I know this isn’t exactly your cup of tea, but I am happy that you are here_ ,” Pacho said gratefully resting his forehead against hers.

She smiled smally and pressed a quick kiss to his lips.

“ _It’s not a big deal. You’re right. It’s not exactly in my comfort zone, but I can deal with it. So long as little boys don’t harass me and say mean things about me and my lover_ ,” She said with a roll of her eyes.

“ _We have to be here another hour. Think you can wait that long, until I can take you to a hotel room and uhh.. what did you say? Oh, right. “Rail you long and hard_ ,”” Pacho teased as the song started to end.

“ _I suppose I can wait... if… you give me a proper kiss_ ,” She bartered with a coy smile.

He slowly leaned down and pulled her into a passionate kiss, that stole her breath. When he pulled away, she whispered a thank you and walked over to where Diego stood.

Pacho returned to his meet where Miguel and Gilberto were still chuckling over what had happened.

“ _She’s very protective of you Pacho. Would never have believed it if I didn’t see it myself_ ,” Gilberto stated as Pacho rejoined them.

“ _Quite curious that a federal agent would care so much about you. Wonder what she would do if your life was actually in danger?_ ” Felix mused as he took a drag of his cigarette.

“ _Don’t think you would want to find out Felix. She can be quite scary when she wants to be,_ ” Pacho warned vaguely.

As they spoke, Blix who had rejoined Diego was talking to him about music, and what was their favorite and such.

“ _Okay. I want you to go up to the DJ and choose a song… that defines your childhood_ ,” Diego dared smirking.

“ _Defines my childhood_ ,” She repeated back and as one song popped into her head, she blanched.

Her face scrunched up and she bit her lip at the thought of it.

“ _Oh. What is that face? Now, you have to. Go!_ ” Diego encouraged laughing.

She walked over to the DJ and murmured the song to him, as she walked back over, she said, “ _Don’t judge me until you hear the explanation_.”

He raised an eyebrow and waited. Seconds later “Rich Girl” by Hall & Oates began to play.

Upon realization, he began to laugh harder. Navegante who had been with them, said “ _You gotta explain._ ”

“ _So. My sisters and I, we grew up pretty well off and often times the other kids at the school, bullied us. Said we were only getting good grades and such, because our mom paid off the teachers and such. It was never because we were smart or anything_ ,” She began to explain, shaking her head at the memories.

“ _So, one day, my sisters and I, because it was pretty small school, decided if someone was bothering us, we would sing/shout out something. Because most likely one of us would hear it. So, we chose this song,”_ She finished with a smile.

She began to sing along with it, as Diego summarized, “ _You and your sisters… created a war cry using this song? And what? What would you do if you heard it?_ ”

“ _Cut a hoe_ ,” She answered seriously before laughing at the mild looks of horror. “ _My sisters were more peaceful and would tell them off or remove us from the situation. I was the one who would punch someone._ ”

“ _Honestly… I can see that. That doesn’t surprise me. So, Rich Girl?”_ Diego said with a nod.

“ _You’re a rich girl, and you’ve gone too far, and you know it don’t matter anyway. You can rely on the old man’s money; you can rely on the old man’s money. It’s a bitch girl,”_ She sang along, swaying side to side.

As the song eventually faded, and Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen took over, a group of men wandered over.

They said hello to her and began to introduce themselves. El Chapo, Benjamin & Ramon Felix, and Cochiloco of the Guadalajara Cartel. As they talked, Amado came up beside her and threw on his arm around her shoulders.

“ _Hi sexy. These idiots bothering you?”_ He teased, causing them to be mock offended.

She giggled at that and shook her head, “ _No. Never.”_

Her and El Chapo began singing along with Queen and were being goofy. Diego and Navegante had disappeared so it was just her with them. The guys were laughing at them, as they got to the operatic portion and were singing along into invisible microphones. She was laughing and having fun as they continued on.

They talked for a while longer after the song ended, stating she should come to Mexico.

“ _You would have so much fun with us! We could show you a real good time,”_ Cochiloco flirted with a wink.

“ _She’s Pacho, I’d chill with the flirting boys. Doubt he would let her anywhere near you heathens alone,”_ Amado stated pulling her closer.

“ _What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him,”_ Chapo reasoned grabbing her hand.

“ _Sorry boys, but not going to happen. It’s uhhh.. very nice of you to offer, though,”_ She replied with a smile.

They chatted for a while, and occasionally danced. It helped past the time and soon enough an hour had passed. She parted ways with them and walked over to a table to adjust her shoe that had begun to rub against her wrong.

As she did that, she vaguely noticed someone come up near her, but she ignored it.

“Never quite understood why women would put their feet into such torture devices,” An accented voice commented.

She paused in her movements, trying to identify the accent as she looked up slowly.

Her breath slightly caught in her throat as she realized who was standing before her. Augustus König.

“Makes our butts and legs look good, mostly,” She replied, after clearing her throat.

He chuckled lowly at that before starting, “I don’t wish to stand on ceremony. So. Shall we cut to the chase, Special Agent Blix?”

“Tell me… why I shouldn’t arrest you right here and now, Herr König?” She asked with a sneer.

“If you had enough to arrest me, you would’ve done so. Plus, this is a rather peaceful event, it wouldn’t look good to show your law enforcement side, would it?” He challenged with a smirk.

He suddenly stepped closer, his hand firmly grasping her chin. “The real question here is, what’s stopping me from killing you right here and now?”

She glared at him, “Get your hands off of me, before I make sure it’s you who gets carried out in a bodybag. To hell with arresting you.”

His smile became sinister but before he could respond, Blix felt an arm wrap around her waist, and she was pulled back and away from him.

“König. Don’t touch what isn’t yours,” Pacho warned as he tucked her into his side.

“Pacho. How lovely to see you? Tell me… how much do you pay her for the pleasure of her company? I’d assume quite a bit given her rather expensive dress,” He noted with disgust as he walked away.

She moved to attack him, but Pacho held a firm grip on her, stopping her.

“You know I can very easily flip you?” She muttered to him.

“And it would not be good if you attacked him here. Please calm down,” He murmured back.

She glared at König’s back before calling out in German, “Herr König. Might want to work on your art forgeries. A 10-year-old could tell they were fake.”

He stopped mid-step, and she could see his shoulders tense before he continued walking.

“ _Did you know he would be here_?” She asked scowling at his back until he disappeared from her sight.

“ _There were rumors he might show. But nothing that confirmed he would. I’m sorry. If I had known I would’ve warned you_ ,” He answered.

“ _C’mon. Let’s go. We can go to a hotel for tonight_ ,” Pacho stated walking with her to get her purse.

“ _What about Diego_?” she asked curious.

“ _Diego… has made other arrangements_ ,” Pacho said, nodding his head over to where he stood.

She looked and saw that Diego was flirting heavily with another man. She nodded her head in understanding and they took that moment to slip away.

The hotel was an hour back into the city. They made their way up to their room, after checking in. As they stepped inside, she immediately took off her shoes, sighing in relief when they were off. She walked over to the bed, sat down, and immediately laid back, her eyes closed.

She was enjoying the feel of the soft comforter beneath her, listening to Pacho move around as he too took off his shoes. She could hear him unbuckle his belt and set something else down next to it.

She opened her eyes, turning her head to see what he was doing. She could see his watch resting next to his belt. She quietly took in his form, as he began to unbutton his shirt. She turned to lay on her side, her head propped up on her hand. She casually moved her leg, so the slit showed off most of it.

He dropped his shirt, looking at her, his eyes moving up and down. His eyes narrowed in on her exposed leg, and he slowly walked up to her. His hand reached down to lazily dance across her skin. He then laid down similarly to way she laid, his hand resting flat against her thigh, pulling it closer.

“Hi,” She whispered, a faint smile on her lips.

“Hey,” He whispered back to her.

They stared at each other for a moment, before she slowly sat up, undoing the top of her dress, as well as unzipping the back. She slid it off and laid back simply lying in her underwear.

She glanced over to him, noticing his eyes darken, before he crawled over her.

“ _Temptress. That’s all that you are_ ,” He growled hovering over her.

She giggled reaching up to fiddle with his necklace. He looked down at hers and asked, “ _Do you like the necklace?”_

 _“I love it. Thank you. Never been called a shark before,”_ She admitted. “ _Then again, you are also one of 2 men that’s never been bothered by scars. So, it’s odd even being considered beautiful.”_

 _“2? I’m sorry… did you not notice all the men who stopped and stared at you when we walked in? The number of men who flirted with you? Stared at your ass?”_ He questioned incredulously.

 _“….No?”_ She answered sheepishly.

 _“Well, I did. I was the envy of every man there, having you on my arm. Hell, you impressed Escobar, and he’s not easy to sway,”_ He complimented, twisting a lock of her hair around his fingers.

“ _Didn’t notice. Though… I do have a standing invitation to visit Mexico anytime I want, and hang out with Amado and them,”_ She noted as she remembered her conversation from earlier.

He chuckled and said, “ _The point is, you are the only person who seems to not realize your beauty and worth. And for what? Some imperfections? Insecurities? You are the only one who sees them, everyone else… sees an amazing person.”_

She felt her cheeks warm a bit at his statement, before simply pressing her lips to his. He responded back, deepening the kiss as his hand cupped her face.

She reached between them, unbuttoning his pants, and shoving them and his boxers down as best as she could. His hands quickly help, along with ripping her underwear off once he was nude.

It didn’t take him long after that to slowly sink his length into her, groaning at the feel of her.

He paused, pressing kisses to her face.

She smiled after a moment before teasing him, “This isn’t quite what I meant by rail be hard and long.”

He stopped all actions and pulled away, sighing in mock annoyance. His hand rested on her throat, and he asked, “What would you do if I choked you right now?”

“Moan, probably,” She answered without missing a beat.

He shook his head and as he kissed her lips, breathed, “and you say, I’m incorrigible?”

She wrapped her legs around his waist, her hands digging into his back, as she rolled her hips forward.

“Never said that I wasn’t,” She countered, flipping them over.

He let her take control with a smirk; he loved seeing her chase her pleasure. She slowly began to roll her hips against his. He laced one of his hands through hers, while her other hand rested against his chest. He began to move with her, his hips meeting hers

She moaned at his movements, clenching in response. He sat up after a moment, the shift in angle led to him brushing against a spot that made her see stars. Her moans grew louder, as they continued; she bit her lip trying to control herself.

“ _Don’t hold back those pretty sounds, baby,”_ Pacho breathed against her skin as he began to bite at her skin, leaving marks on her neck and chest.

She felt the tension building up inside and it didn’t take much longer for her to explode with pleasure, especially when Pacho reached down to rub her clit with his free hand.

He flipped them over, taking back control and increasing his pace. His hand took both of hers, pinning them above her head. His other reaching up to grasp her throat and would gently apply pressure to it. Her moans would get breathy as he did so, and she leaned forward catching his lips with hers.

As their kisses got more and more passionate, his thrusts got sloppier as he reached his peak. His orgasm triggered another one from her and as they rode out their highs, their kisses slowed. Their movements became leisurely, and their kisses lazy. When he finally stopped, and gently pulled out, he paused for a moment to catch his breath.

Their breaths were heavy and both of them had a thin layer of sweat built up. After a minute or so, he stood up to grab a wet washcloth to clean the both of them up. Once that was done, they both slipped under the covers. She rested her head on his chest, her hand placed next to it.

They talked quietly for a moment.

“ _What does this mean for us? Now that I’m… officially introduced as yours?”_ She asked quietly.

“ _It means just that. You’re mine. You are seen as an associate to the Cali Cartel which… is good and bad,”_ He began to explain. “ _Good because most won’t mess with you. Bad because the ones who will, also don’t care that you are a federal agent.”_

 _“So… I have a target on my back no matter what. Because even the ones who wouldn’t mess with me, know that I am important to you and would use that to their advantage,”_ She interpreted with a sigh.

 _“No one will harm you. I promise you,”_ He swore to her as they drifted off.

The next morning, she woke up to some miss calls on her phone and was calling people back trying to figure out what went wrong.

According to Javier and Horacio, they caught Gustavo that morning and were currently interrogating him. Both had warned her to not be in Medellin for a while since it was probably going to become a warzone soon.

When she hung up, she murmured the news to Pacho, who then called the brothers. They wanted nothing to do with whatever hell was about to be raised, and they made the decision to leave asap.

By noon, she was being dropped off at her house back in Cali. Pacho said plans had to be made and contingencies put in place. When she arrived, she saw Theo standing there with a couple of boxes at her front door.

“Hey, what’s all this _?”_ She asked as she moved forward.

“Your mail. It’s been piling up at the office. Didn’t think you were a fan of the Halloween that much _,”_ Theo said surprised.

“Oh. Umm. I am. But. Halloween is also my birthday _,”_ She responded nonchalantly.

“Is it? We’ve worked together for years, how come ya never mentioned that _?”_ Theo questioned, his brow furrowing.

“I don’t really celebrate it. Haven’t in years to be honest _,”_ She admitted with a shrug. “Thanks for bringing these over. I know it was probably a pain.”

“You’re welcome. You know we are now celebrating every year, right?” He inclined with a grin.

She shook her head at him and shooed him away, taking in the boxes to her living room.

One box was simply filled with cards and small packages. The other, a heavier box, was unopened and came from New York. She smiled softly as she read it was Jack and Andy, the sons of the gym owner who took her in when she was younger.

She decided she was going to open everything later tonight and was going to spend the day working on chores she’s putting off. Not realizing that by end of the day… her world was going to come crashing down around her.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one is angsty. I have it marked, but there is a brief discussion of childhood abuse. If that makes you uncomfortable please skip over that, it is very brief and not detailed. A lot of family drama for one(1) Blix. Next chapter is super sweet though and makes up for this.

She had cleaned up the house for the most part and was satisfied with the work she had done. She had just started to sit down when there was a knock on her. She made her way to the door, answering it.

“ _Salcedo? What brings you here?”_ She asked surprised.

“ _Pacho wants you close by. Escobar is not happy and Pacho is worried that you may be a target,”_ He quickly explained.

She sighed, somewhat annoyed, “ _And I’m guessing I don’t have much of a choice in this matter?”_

Salcedo gave her an apologetic look.

“ _Let me go get some things. I have 2 boxes of mail to go through so that shall be coming with us,”_ She tells him quickly.

She handed him the box of cards, letters and small gifts. He took it with a nod and another guard came up and took the heavier box from her family in New York. She grabbed some of her own clothes, and necessities packing them into a suitcase quickly. Once she was ready, they drove her to Pacho’s home.

She walked in, noticing the brothers were there with Pacho. She sees Alvaro sitting next to him reading a book, a notepad near him for when he stopped to write every so often.

She made her way over to the couch, taking the open seat by Pacho quietly. He continued to speak to Miguel about something, the only sign that he gave that he noticed she was there, was his hand coming to rest on her knee.

Salcedo and Córdova set her boxes near her, before taking her suitcase upstairs to her room.

While they talked, she began opening cards. Most of them were from other fighters, who wished her a happy birthday and told her they missed her.

Some had cash stuffed in their cards. Others they sent a gift, that was in the form of a fox. She lined up several trinkets, shakers, towels, and such, all fox themed.

Gilberto asked with a laugh, “ _Why do you have so many foxes, little one?_ ”

“ _It’s a long story_ …” She said with a shake of her head.

She had eventually gotten through all of the birthday wishes, and all that was left was regular mail, so she set the box aside for now.

She walked over to the heavier box, laying it down flat. She pulled out a knife to cut the tape that sealed it. As she pulled open the flats, the first thing she saw was a note resting near a some brand new boxing gloves.

She quickly pulled them with an excited squeak.

“Yesss. Been needing a new pair,” She mumbled throwing a glove on to see how it fit.

She clenched her fist a few times, checking it out. Once she was satisfied, she set them gently onto the coffee table. She turned back to the box and noticed there was plain white box sitting in there as well, so she set it and the note aside for a moment. She cleared away the tissue to find bubble wrap and it was tightly wound across the large item that was inside.

She gently cut down the sides of the cardboard box, so it was completely flat. She then gently lifted the item up and began to unwrap it one-handed.

She slowly revealed a shadow box, that had her old fight outfit, a few news articles, and her first pair of gloves pinned inside.

“ _The Silver Vixen?”_ Came Pacho’s voice as he walked up to get a closer look at it.

“ _That was my fight name,”_ She said softly staring at the items inside fondly.

She looked up, and gently waved over a couple guards, asking them to put it some place safe for her. They did, carrying it off to the side. She turned to the white box and note.

She opened the note reading it quickly.

‘Hey sis, on the off chance that you ever come back home, we figured you should have the proper gear and attire beforehand. Love you, Happy Birthday! – Jack & Andy’

“ _Oh lord,”_ She whispered as she realized what exactly was in the white box.

Pacho raised an eyebrow, looking at her expectantly.

“ _Well. Go on. Show us,_ ” His voice was teasing.

She pulled the lid off, shoved the tissue paper away and pulled out a sports bra, a pair of shorts, and a silk robe, all in a dark silver. All embellished with the words “Silver Fox” in white stitching.

“ _You never told me you were a fighter,”_ Pacho noted staring at the items.

“ _I mean… I only did like 10 tournaments/matches,”_ She waved it off.

“ _Uh huh. And how many did you lose?”_ Gilberto asked with a teasing smile.

She looked every which direction, not making eye contact as she not so casually scratched her face, before holding up one finger.

“ _One? You lost one match?_ ” Miguel asked with a shake of his head.

“ _Yeah. I did it for a year… during my last match, there was an FBI recruiter in the crowd, and he told me I should apply. So… I did,”_ She explained briefly, retaking her seat. “ _And now here I am.”_

Pacho leaned over and quietly whispered, “ _I find that strangely sexy. I might have to see some of these moves of yours.”_

She shook her head, smiling at him somewhat embarrassed.

“ _I’m really not that good. Just… quick_ ,” She replied modestly.

As they resumed talking about business, she grabbed the rest of her mail at the bottom of the box.

She quickly flicked through them, determining them to be junk mail. She checked the box and saw a manilla envelope at the bottom, she grabbed it setting it to the side as she dumped her cards and gifts back into the box, tossing the fighting outfit in there as well.

She was following along with their conversation, as she set the somewhat thick envelope onto her lap.

She looked down at it, her breath catching in her throat as she noticed the address. She swallowed thickly as her hands pulled the plain envelope off, turning it around to open it.

She opens it with somewhat shaky hands, and sees a newspaper sticking out of it. She pulls it out, unfolding it. After flipping it over, she noted it was the local newspaper from her hometown. More specifically, the obituary section. Her eyes drifted down to the column smacked dab in the middle of the page.

‘Aurelia Lage, 59, passed away…’

That was all she was able to read before she dropped the paper. She stood up suddenly and walked into the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of tequila before walking outside.

Pacho, grabbed the newspaper that she had dropped, searching it for answers. He quickly found it, recognizing the last name. He sets the paper down and grabs the manila envelope and slowly follows her outside.

She was sitting on the grass, the bottle of tequila resting between her legs. Her face was pale, and she was trembling.

He slowly made his way over to her, sitting by her side. He watched her take a long drink, with a small grimace.

“ _Your mother?”_ He prompted quietly.

Blix nodded her head.

“ _I. I don’t know how to feel. Relieved? Happy? Numb? How does one feel, knowing that the person who hated your entire existence is dead?”_ She asked rhetorically.

She sighed heavily, knowing she had to finally tell him everything.

“ _My mother… She uh… had my sisters with her first husband. He died… and she went on the hunt for husband number 2,”_ She began with a scoff.

“ _She found him in the mayor of our fair town. A married man mind you. He and his wife… were having trouble conceiving a child. That was the kind of woman my mother was. She saw a woman, who tried and tried to have kids, and saw it as a weakness to take advantage of,”_ Blix said bitterly. “ _They had their affair. She got pregnant, but uhh… so did his wife. His wife had a healthy baby boy… a month after I was born. Do you know what it’s like to have sibling who has no idea you exist?”_

Pacho didn’t respond, he just wrapped an arm around her, pulling her in close.

**TRIGGER WARNING**

“ _Suffice it to say, the mayor left my mother. And me. The… abuse… started slowly. I would get in trouble far more often than my sisters, even if I wasn’t involved. Time outs were longer. Which slowly led to her locking me in my room… and starving me for days. My sisters… they tried to help, but I didn’t want them to get in trouble…”_ She took a deep breath, having to steal her nerves to explain the next part.

“ _When that longer worked, it became physical. I’m not going to explain all of it… but it came to a head when I was 15. She threw a vase at me. It broke against my face. I uhh. I needed 100 stitches to close the wounds,”_ She stuttered, sniffling as tears began to fall.

**TRIGGER WARNING END**

“ _I grabbed what money I had hidden, from doing odd jobs around the neighborhood. Ran away, once the stitches were out. I made my way to New York. Got busted with some other kids with stolen goods. Judge sent me to a group home and made me go to therapy. That lasted a month,”_ She snorted at the memory.

 _“Was about 19. Trying to find shelter from the rain. A couple of guys… cornered me. It was pretty obvious… what they had planned. Tried to fight them off. The owner of the building we were next to, heard the commotion. Scared them off. Took me in. Gave me a job at his gym. Made me get my GED. Was his best fighter for a year, before I became an FBI agent. Traveled the world. Landed here...”_ She trailed off.

 _“Met a man who, while a commitment-phobe, taught me to love myself as is. Then I ran into you… and the past 2 months? Have been the happiest I’ve been in a long time,”_ She stated, looking at him.

Pacho smiled softly, beckoning her to him. She slowly crawls into his lap; she goes to bury her face into his shoulder but stops.

“ _I’m going to ruin your shirt,”_ She mumbled.

“ _Honey. I can literally buy 20 of these. I don’t care if you ruin it,”_ He informed her quietly, running his hand through her hair.

She stared at him for a moment, before slowly burying her face into him, as smalls sobs began to rake through her body. He quietly shushed her, running his hands up and down her back.

She’s not sure how long she sat like, but by the time her tears became small sniffles, she was exhausted. She slowly pulled away, rubbing her face to dry it off.

Pacho slowly pulls the envelope forward, asking, “ _Do you want me to open it_?”

She nodded her head, “ _It’s her will for sure, but I don’t know what else is in it_.”

“ _How do you know that?”_ Pacho inquired as he gently opened it.

“ _The name. Whit Jacobson? He does all of the will and testaments. He also runs the funeral home and crematorium. ‘Your one stop shop, for when a family member drops.’”_ She mocked, her eyes rolling.

Pacho paused in his movements, “ _Please do not tell me… that was his slogan?”_

She nodded her head, smiling tightly.

Pacho shook his head, pulling out the documents inside. She took it with shaky hands, looking it over. She noticed almost immediately… that it was off. There were large gaps between each paragraph and some sentences even cut off halfway through a word.

“Great. Now I need lawyer to help me deal with this bullshit,” She muttered annoyed.

She looked back toward Pacho’s hand as he pulled out a few stacks of photos. She froze as she looked at them. The first photo in each stack, was of one of her sisters. A small smile appeared as she examined them.

“Your sisters?” Pacho realized, noticing how they all resembled one another.

“This is Lily, Hope and Darla,” She pointed them out with a sigh. “Lily is the sweetest, Hope the craziest, and Darla, the oldest, is the serious one.”

“They sound lovely… but none of them could hold a candle to you,” He said sweetly.

She smiled shyly at that, and gently placed the photos back into the envelope, swearing to look at them more closely later, and put the will back in as well. Pacho made her stand up and led her over to one of the outside tables and told her to wait there.

A few minutes later, he walked back outside with a plate of food and two forks. He sat down in one of the seats and pulled her into his lap.

“ _Eat. Need to soak up some of that tequila you’ve been drinking,”_ He teased her handing her a fork.

She shook her head and took a few bites. The two of them quietly ate, occasionally playfully fighting over a piece with their forks.

Halfway through, he slowly stopped, pulling away sightly. She looked at him confused, setting her fork down, turning her attention to him.

“ _The last thing… my father ever said to me, was that I will never be a man. He told me this after he caught me with a neighbor boy. I was 16 and he threw me out on the streets,”_ He slowly began, a bitterness in his tone.

“ _I began working with the Cali soon after. Worked my way up the ranks. At one point… another guy, was pissed that I was doing so well. Ratted me out to the Gilberto & Miguel. Told them I wasn’t man enough, that I didn’t belong. Do you know what they did?”_ Pacho asked her.

She shook her head.

“ _They made me partner. All I am, all I have is because of them,”_ Pacho ended with a sigh.

She started to say something but stopped herself, voting to instead take another bite of food.

“ _What?”_ Pacho lightly asked.

She paused before mentioning, “ _That day… in the hotel? When we talked about the surrender? You made a face or.. maybe it was your tone… but I had feeling that you weren’t thrilled by the idea. It makes more sense now. The cartel. It’s allowed you to live how you want, without restraint or fear. Without it, what are you left with?”_

He gave a short laugh, nodding his head. “ _You noticed that, but fail to notice several men eyeing you like your hottest thing they’ve ever seen?”_

“ _I notice what’s important, silly. Those guys? In the long run, mean nothing to me. You, on the other hand, mean a great deal to me,”_ She whispered pressing a kiss to his cheek.

“ _Also. Who was this asshole that tried to out you? Need to know in case I need to stab a hoe,”_ She half-joked.

“ _A Salvador, no one of importance to be honest. But I appreciate you wishing to defend my honor,”_ He laughed.

“ _I’m going to go to bed. Do you mind if I crash in yours? Don’t… want to be alone,”_ She said soberly.

He nodded his head, giving her a kiss. “ _I’ll join you in a little bit, alright?”_

She smiled and stood up, making her way inside. She was on autopilot making her way upstairs, she didn’t even bother stopping by her room. She stepped into Pacho’s bedroom, making her way over to his closet. She grabbed one of his plain long sleeve button-ups. She stripped down to just her underwear and threw the shirt on.

She went into the bathroom to clean her face and do her business. A few minutes later, she had crawled under the covers, holding one of the pillows closely to her as she quickly fell asleep.

Downstairs, Pacho walked into the living room, sighing heavily.

“ _What happened?”_ Gilberto asked curious.

“ _She was informed in not so many words, that her psychotic mother passed away. She needs a lawyer to look at this will, it’s terribly edited and I’m sure someone was trying to pull a fast one,”_ He briefly informed him, dropping the will onto the coffee table.

“ _We will get ours right on it. Go to her. Gilberto and I will crash here tonight, and make phone calls in the morning, okay?”_ Miguel stated firmly standing up with Gilberto.

“ _Careful Miguel. It almost sounds like you care about her?”_ Gilberto teased.

“ _She’s a good girl and she’s good for you. She’s the Lady of Cali after all,”_ Miguel pointed out looking at Pacho, referencing her newly acquired nickname.

Pacho nodded and bid them goodnight. Alvaro looked at his brother and noticed he was fidgeting.

“ _You told her about our father,”_ He stated more than asked.

Pacho looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

“ _You’re fidgeting. You only ever do after talking about him,”_ Alvaro explained nodding towards Pacho’s hands.

Pacho had no response to that, and just smiled tightly.

“ _Go get some rest little brother,”_ Pacho recommended after a moment, making his way to the stairs.

When he got to his bedroom, he paused, staring at Blix who was in the middle of the bed, passed out. He noted with a soft smile that she was in one of his shirts. He quietly got ready for bed, and as he slid in next to her, she turned over, reaching for him.

He settled in, pulling her close, listening to her sigh happily as she snuggled into his arms. He noticed after a moment, Diego standing at the doorway.

Diego had come up after one of the guards who had been patrolling outside, overheard their conversation and relayed it to several others.

He strips down to just his boxer, and gently, hesitantly, lays behind her, wrapping an arm around her. She blearily looked at his arm, noticing the extra warmth, and just slowly held it to her.

Once she was back to sleep, Diego quietly asked, “ _How is she so nice? Survived all of that, and… is not bitter at the world?”_

Pacho hummed, “ _I think she’s more bitter than she lets on. She just doesn’t want the world to see it. We can talk later. I don’t want to wake her up.”_

Diego nodded his head, and the two of them slowly fell asleep.

When Blix woke up the next morning, she was slightly disoriented. Her eyes blinked open slowly, confused as to why she was so warm. She glanced down and noticed two different arms were wrapped around her waist. Looking to her left and right, she spotted Pacho and Diego, sleeping contently on either side of her.

She smiled, reaching up to rub the sleep out of her eyes. When her vision was cleared, she spotted Alvaro waiting by the door, smirking at the sight before him.

“ _Hey_ ,” She softly greeted.

“ _Good morning. Your phone’s been ringing, I figured you should probably answer it,”_ Alvaro greeted, showing her phone in his hand.

She nodded, gently sitting up, trying not to wake either men. She eventually stood up, and gingerly walked toward the end of the bed, stepping off once she got there.

She whispered a thank you as she took her phone. She noticed that Steve, Javier, and Theo had tried calling her.

She calls Theo, and once he answered asked, “What the hell happen?”

“It’s a shitshow boss. Escobar surrendered but his terms are laughable. He built his own prison and DEA can do fuck all about it. But now, the embassy is under a microscope. All staff must report in to discuss the new changes. You are wanted by 1pm boss,” Theo said rushed.

“Shit. Umm. Okay. Its 9:30? Okay, I can be there by 1. I’ll see ya then,” She answered hanging up and rushing into her bedroom.

She grabbed some black slacks, and a silk blouse from the closet, tossing them and some heels onto the bed, while she raced to get herself ready. She didn’t have time to get a shower in, so she cleaned her face, threw on a dash of makeup and healthy amount of deodorant/perfume.

She threw her hair into a slightly messy bun and tossed the shirt she was wearing to the floor. She grabbed a bra and got dressed in minutes. She tossed her FBI badge around her neck, made sure her IDs were in her messenger bag, and after securing her gun into its holster, slipped it onto her hip.

She jumped into her shoes, grabbing her bag and phone, moving quickly downstairs.

“ _Alvaro? Please tell your brother I will be in Bogota for the day!”_ She called out as she passed him.

She saw Salcedo and a few others getting into a car.

“ _Hey, Salcedo! Mind if I bum a ride to the airport with you guys?”_ She asked as she caught up to them.

Salcedo replied, “ _Of course. Get in.”_

She hopped in, taking a seat next to Navegante. They took her to the airport, making small talk.

Two hours later, and she was standing in front of the American Embassy. She made her way inside, stopping briefly to check on her team, since they were all assembled in their water closet sized office.

Her team gave her a stack of files to go through, and a few reports she needed to sign off.

She took them with her as she walked into the conference room that was crowded with members from every department.

When she stepped in, the attention turned to her.

Her director commented, “Nice to see you finally join us Agent Lage.”

She went to apologize but a random agent, one from CIA felt the need to mutter loudly, “Too busy whoring around I’d bet.”

Her eyes narrowed, and a tight smile formed on her face, ignoring the chuckles.

“I’m sorry if I am a bit late director. I was informed of a death in my family last night,” She spoke plainly.

The director looked at her with sympathy, and said, “My condolences. Please be sure to stay the full meeting. Many things are to be discussed.”

She nodded her head and turned her gaze to the man who spoke before, “I’m sorry. Were you trying to say something earlier? Couldn’t quite hear you over your mumbling? If you have something to say, say it to my face like a man. That way at least when I knock you on your ass, you can have some dignity.”

She smiled somewhat viciously when he turned red and backed away into the crowd.

She moved toward Javier and Steve who were leaning against the wall, waiting.

A few minutes passed, before the room began to clear out. Soon it was just 2 members of each department. When they all took their seats, they were informed that Ambassador Noonan has retired.

“I am to be your new ambassador and things are going to change around here,” Arthur Crosby spoke firmly.

He laid out the new guidelines, especially for the DEA. He told them that everyone will be setting up in Medellin in a new office.

He eventually turned his attention to her and Theo.

“I want the both of you to bring me up to speed about these museum robberies,” He demanded looking at them expectantly.

“Our suspect is Augustus König. He’s wanted around the world for numerous robberies. We have narrowed down a list of potential warehouses that he may be using to hideout, and store everything he’s stolen. As far as we are aware, he hasn’t sold any of the items,” Blix began speaking.

“… and… He knows who I am. We ran into each other the other day. I don’t think he’s aware of the other members of my team, but he made me well aware that he doesn’t fear law enforcement,” She concluded hesitantly.

Theo looked at her surprised.

Stechner snorted, “Hm. Was that… before or after your little trip to Medellin the other day?”

She looked at him and asked, “Is there something you’d like to say?”

“Hmm. No, just find it interesting that both you and the Cali Cartel were seen in Medellin around the same time,” He said with feigned innocence.

“Are you having me followed?” She accused her face hardening. “Ambassador, I apologize but this is something I would like addressed. Seeing as how, my lovely… coworkers here… had no qualms about leaking my dossier to said cartel, and your predecessor knew about it.”

Crosby raised his hand to stop Stechner from speaking, “Listen, all of you. The priority is the Medellin cartel and the Communists. No more spying on other agencies, if there is not a valid concern. No more arguments. No more fights.”

He stared pointedly at Blix when he said the last line.

“Now, if this Konig is indeed aware of you Agent Lage, then I would hope you are taking the necessary precautions to make sure this doesn’t blow up in our face. The Colombians would have a field day if they learned we were the reason for millions of dollars of priceless art was lost forever because of a minor mistake,” Crosby returned to the subject at hand, subtly warning her to not mess up.

She nodded her head in affirmation. They spoke more next steps, and toward the end her phone began to go off.

She winced and quietly answered it, “Hello?”

“Miss Lage? This is Alan Starkman, Pacho called me to look over your will?” Came a male voice.

“Oh. Um. Do you mind if I call you back in about 10 minutes, I am in the middle of a meeting?” She requested trying to end the phone call quickly.

“Sure,” He replied before hanging up.

She rolls her eyes and puts her phone back into her pocket. “Sorry. Lawyer.”

They finished up the meeting without further interruptions and as she stepped out, she turned to the ambassador.

“Uh. Sir. Just a quick note, I am having to deal with some nonsense regarding my mother’s will, and I may have to make a trip to Georgia to fix things,” She spoke quietly.

“Do what you need to do. You have my condolences as well,” He remarked making his way to his office.

She nodded her in appreciation but was internally grimacing.

She quickly called the lawyer back, who was quick to inform her that many things were off. He has it set for them to meet with Whit Jacobson at 1pm tomorrow in Georgia, with her sisters.

She thanked him for his help and said she’d meet him tomorrow at the airport.

Once that was done, she sighed heavily. This was not how she expected her day to go.

She worked on the files she had at hand, finishing them up in an hour, when Javier appeared at her desk.

“You finish?” He quietly asked.

She nodded her head, he told her to come with him.

She does so, following him to his truck. They drove for a while before pulling up to a familiar home, where the car out front was packed full of suitcases.

“Horacio has been reassigned. Figured you’d want to say goodbye before he’s shipped to Spain,” Javier tells her.

She kissed his cheek in thanks and stepped out. She walked up to the door, knocking on the frame, and calling out “ _Anyone home_?”

She hears two sets of feet running toward her and was almost knocked off her feet when two small bodies ran into her.

“ _Ah! My favorites! How are you my loves?”_ She exclaimed picking them both up in her arms and waddling with them into the living room.

They tell her they were sad that they had to leave. “ _Oh, I’m very sad too. I may have to steal you and take you to Cali with me.”_

 _“Don’t tempt me,”_ Julianna remarked as she walked over. “ _I might let you.”_

Blix laughed as she put them down, giving Julianna a hug in greeting.

“ _He’s out back,”_ Julianna tells her nodding her head toward the backyard.

Blix slowly made her way to him outside. He was staring off into the distance, hands in his pockets.

“ _Hey old man,”_ She greeted, lightly teasing him.

He turned around to face, a small smile on his face. She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him. He returns it muttering, “ _Hey, brat.”_

She hugged him for a solid minute, not really wanting to let go, but she didn’t want to make it weird.

She pulled away with a sigh, asking in disbelief, “ _They’re really reassigning you to Spain?”_

He nodded his head, and opened his mouth to respond when he stopped, moving his hand to tilt her chin up. He examined her face with a frown.

“ _Have you been crying, little fox?”_ He asked concerned.

“ _I found out my mother died… and I have to go back home to Georgia to fix some bullshit concerning her will,”_ She muttered quietly, breaking her gaze with his.

He sighed softly, before leaning forward to press a kiss to her forehead. He was one of the few people she had confided in about what had happened to her when she was young. In that moment, she looked so small and though she did her best to hide it, he could tell she was scared.

“ _What do you need me to do? Need me to go with you tomorrow? I’ve been told I can be quite intimidating,”_ He offered her.

“ _You’ve been told huh?”_ She repeated with a teasing smile.

“ _I appreciate the offer, but… this is something I need to face alone. You always said that my past will try to catch up to me. Well. It has,”_ She denied his offer with a shake of her head.

“ _Doesn’t mean you should go through it alone. I know we butted heads a lot in the beginning, but you’ve become a kid sister to me. If you need me, you can always call me. Day or night,”_ Horacio informed her sweetly.

She felt her nose twinge and lip tremble, as she tried to not cry in front of him. She couldn’t quite speak, so she just simply threw her arms around him in another hug. He chuckled quietly and hugged her back.

She stepped back after a moment, sniffling softly, trying to calm herself.

“ _I’ll miss you,”_ She whispered.

He threw an arm around her shoulder, mumbling into her hair that he would miss her as well, as they walked back inside.

She said her goodbyes to everyone and made her way back to Javier in his truck. Javier drove her to his apartment after that, and she sat somewhat numbly on his couch as he made lunch.

A sandwich and some chips were presented to her, and she took it with a soft ‘thank you.’

He sat next to her, throwing on some tv, a movie of some sorts. The two of them quietly ate, setting their plates on the coffee table once they were both done. She was vaguely aware that he had on Star Wars.

She slowly rested her head against his shoulder, he held her hand in response. She quietly told him what was going on with her family. He was quiet the entire time, listening to her. When she was finished, he didn’t react at first. He surprised her when he suddenly pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her tightly. He held her close, and that’s how they sat for most of the day.

When evening rolled around, she made a few phone calls that she needed to do before tomorrow. When it came around time to go to bed, she collapsed on top of him once he was laying down on the bed.

“At some point… I do want to talk about you... about… that phone call I made… a while back. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable that night. I do…think about us… Probably more often than I should, given I was the asshole who called it off,” Javier voice spoke out into the darkness.

“…I think about it too… but maybe for now… it’s a good thing we are not together. We both have very different priorities when it comes to our jobs. Maybe… in the future we could talk about this more in detail,” She requested politely, even though in her head, she didn’t know if a future with Javier would happen. Not with the feelings she had for Pacho.

He nodded his head, “Yeah. This whole thing with Escobar… is… draining. I’d rather you didn’t witness any of the fallout. As ridiculous as it sounds, you’re safer in Cali.”

She thought in her head, ‘Yeah. Especially when I’m dating a Gentleman.’

They fell asleep and the next morning, she slipped out. Getting dressed in what she wore yesterday, before heading out to the airport. She met with the lawyer, an older man who was a bit on thicker side. He gave her a bag of clothes to change into, before they hopped into one of the cartels personal planes.

She made her way toward the bathroom, relieved to see there was a small shower. She cleaned herself off before looking into the bag that she was handed. As she changed, she noted that Pacho was probably the one who picked out the outfit. It was a black button-down silk shirt, with black pencil skirt that went past her knees, with a matching pair of black pumps.

She walked out feeling fresh as their flight made its course. The trip took 5hrs and soon they had landed. She grimaced with disdain at the humidity and the heat. They got into a car and made their way to Willow’s Creek, Georgia.

She made some calls on her way there and as they parked outside the courthouse, after driving into town, she let her lawyer walk in first to finish up her calls.

Minutes later, she was walking, and stopped just next to the conference room where she could Jacobson complaining that he was being scammed and what an outrage this was.

“Indeed, Whit… what an outrage?” She mocked stepping inside.

She momentarily froze when she saw her sisters, whose faces all lit up as they took her in.

“This,” She set her copy of the will down before them. “Was what he sent me. And just glancing at the original, you see that I was given forged document.”

Darla, was the first to move, taking the will into her hands and looking at with growing outrage.

“What the hell is this Whit?” Came her voice, deeper than she remembered, but with a hint of sultry.

“Whit… here. You what? Thought I was an idiot? That I would sign this blindly? Hmm?” She questioned, turning her attention to him, as he nervously stuttered.

“It’s a shame… especially when,” She pulled out her badge presenting it to him. “I’m a federal agent. It’s a bigger shame that… I had to cash in a couple of favors with the White-Collar division. Because if you were willing to screw me over…. How many other families did you do this to?”

Behind her, in the office, several agents had begun to enter and were seizing everything.

“I would nev-” Whit began to deny.

“Uh huh. It’s interesting that a man who barely makes 30k a year is able to afford a Porsche and the house you own… Are you really going to keep denying this?” Blix smiled victoriously.

An agent came in serving a warrant, arresting him. She waved goodbye as he passed her.

“Is this the original?” She asked turning around to face her sisters who looked at her in shock.

Lily nodded her head. Blix grabbed her pen from her bag and quickly signed the will with a sigh.

When it was done, she looked at Starkman and requested, “You’ll get me a copy of this, yeah?”

He nodded his with a smug smile, “There are some assets that do need to be discussed. Ladies?”

Blix reluctantly sat down across from them, and said, “Shoot.”

Lily spoke first, “Well. Um. We all discussed that the ranch and everything should go to you. You loved it the most, it’s only right it goes to you.”

Lily slid a small envelope that had a set of keys inside.

Blix smiled smally, taking them.

“The house. Um. None of us want it and I doubt that you do either,” Darla took over pausing to see Blix shake her head ‘no.’ “So, we are dividing everything among us, and selling off/throwing away furniture we don’t want. The grand piano is yours.”

“Along with all the books in the library,” Chimed in Hope, her voice bright and cheery.

“The last sort of major items are the cars. The Morgan, the Convertible, and the Mustang,” Lily ended.

Blix thought for a moment before stating, “Well. Darla should get the Morgan. It was always your favorite. Plus, you were the only who learned how to drive stick.”

They all chuckled a little at that.

“Then… the ‘stang and convertible should go to either of you. I don’t need a car, have plenty,” She said looking at Lily and Hope.

They both nodded, Darla then stated, “That’s all of the major items, like we said, we’re just going to divide everything evenly. We did, however, find one thing, that you should have now.”

Lily giggled as she pulled out a small pink bomber jacket, that had the words “Pink Lady” on it.

“Good lord where did you find that?” Blix asked mildly horrified as she took it.

“One of the boxes in the attic, we all found ours, so we hoped that you would come and get yours. Maybe give it to any little ones you wind up having?” Hope explained somewhat shyly.

Blix smiled at it and whispered a soft ‘thank you,’ before folding it gently and putting it in her bag.

“If that’s everything, I need to be going soon. Work waits for no one,” Blix noted standing up.

“Uhh. Just… one last thing… you… you wouldn’t happen to know what happened to mom’s little black book, do you? People… keep trying to claim that she owed them stuff from years ago,” Lily asked worriedly.

Blix paused at the door, sighing. She turned to them and said, “I have it. I’ll fax over a copy I made for you guys.”

She then grabbed a scrap piece of paper from her bag and put down her numbers on it.

“You can uh… call me on either of the first 2 numbers. The third is my fax. I’ll be sure to get that info to you guys, asap,” She said, pushing the paper to them, and walking out.

Her hands shook as she threw on her sunglasses, just before she made it to the door. She wasn’t sure how to react with everything. She stepped outside and made it halfway down the stairs when she saw a peculiar sight.

“Pacho,” She said, drinking in his form as he leaned against a motorcycle, looking every bit the bad boy persona.

She strolled over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist, under his leather jacket.

“ _What are you doing here honey?”_ She asked with a smile.

“ _Checking up on my girl. How are you?”_ He wondered looking her over.

“ _Better now that you’re here,”_ She replied sweetly, giving him a kiss.

He kissed back and told her, “ _I came to steal you away for a few days. I have some business down in Florida I need to take care of. I figured you and I could have some much needed alone time.”_

She smiled at that and started to answer when she heard someone clear their throat. She turned around and spotted her sisters standing, looking at the two of them curiously.

“Pacho. These are my sisters. Lily, Hope, and Darla. Guys, this is Pacho, my boyfriend,” She introduced quickly.

Pacho smiled charmingly and said hello to them with a small wave.

Lily was the first to react, throwing her hands around Blix, pulling her into a tight hug.

Blix was not expecting, giving a small “Oof!”

Hope and Darla joined in and were hugging her as well.

Pacho smiled as he noted that Blix was trying and failing to not cry. Staring at her sisters, he noted their caramel blonde hairs, and blue-green eyes. Seeing them together, he realized, if Blix had been blonde, it would’ve been difficult to distinguish who was who.

They said their goodbyes and promised to call each other.

Blix wiped her eyes, returning to Pacho’s embrace.

“So. How exactly do you expect me to ride comfortably on this thing in this skirt?” She asked with a laugh.

“The skirt shortens,” He tells her with a smirk.

She looked down at it and spotted that just above the knee was flap that perfectly covered the zipper. She unzips it without care, stepping out of it, and tossing the fabric into her bag.

It was still a bit tight but gave her legs more mobility. She moved to straddle the bike but stopped.

“Can we… make one quick pitstop before we go to the airport?” She pleaded.

He nodded his head, and she directed them to a place that was about half a mile away from town.

As he pulled up, she took in the crumbling barn in the distance, and the house that had seen better days.

“This is your grandparents place, yes?” He confirmed as they stopped.

She nodded her head, “My sisters gave it to me.”

Blix walked toward the house, hesitantly. She looked all around, remembering how beautiful it once was. It saddened her to see it in the state it was in.

She pulled out the key, and gently opened the door, brushing away cobwebs that had formed near the entrance.

The inside of it still looked the way it did when she was child, just dusty. There was only one thing she wanted from inside. A photo. It sat on the mantle, just above the fireplace. She brushed off the layer of dust that had built onto it, revealing her as a child, with a large black stallion.

She picked it up, brushing it off as best as she could, as she made her way back outside. She locked the door behind her, and then gazed fondly at the frame in her hands.

She moved back to Pacho, and shyly showed him the photo. He smiled as he stared at it.

“ _Aww. Look at you. So cute. Was this your horse?”_ He asked teasing lightly.

“ _Yeah. His name was Zeus. I was the only he would let ride him. He was very... peculiar. I found out later on, that they rescued him when he was a foal, and he had been starved. I’m pretty sure he uh. He knew. Kindred spirits and all_ ,” She explained softly.

“ _What happened to him?”_ Pacho inquired curiously.

“ _He was sold. He uhh. Went to a farm where he became a racehorse and had many babies. He died about 5 years ago? I think? He was 20,”_ She stated as she gently placed the frame into her bag.

Pacho stared at her and mentioned, “ _You looked very happy in that photo_. _Now I see why my ranch made brought you such joy.”_

She simply gave him a kiss and got back onto the bike with him. They rode away, Blix feeling lighter and more relaxed than she’s felt in a long time.

They drove to the airport, hopped onto a plane, greeting Navegante. It wasn’t long before they landed in Florida and made their way to a small, nondescript motel.

The plans discussed were about getting rid of the Lion and taking over Escobar’s market here in Florida. It took about 3 days to get the assets under Cali’s control, and watching Pacho work his charm was a sight to behold. In their free time, he wooed her, taking her to museums and parks. At night they spent tangled up each other, whispering sweet nothings to one another.

When the work was done, and they packed up their stuff, they had but one last thing to do. They invited Lion to their motel, where Navegante make quick work of him. Blix didn’t bother asking what he did with the body; some things are better left unknown.

That day they returned to Cali, and it was as she walked inside Pacho’s home, she realized, that this was becoming more of a home to her than her own place. Especially when she walked in to see Gilberto and Miguel standing there, waiting to welcome the both of them home.

Gilberto gave her a huge hug that she wasn’t expecting but accepted it. Her attention was directed to the side where a large pile of boxes laid and behind all of it, sat a grand piano. It was mahogany wood, in a Victorian style.

She wandered over it, gently lifting the cover over the keys. She looked at it and played a few notes. She noticed quickly that the keys needed to be tuned, as the tones were offkey as they played.

She ran her hand softly over the wood, noting the smalls scuffs that she knew needed to be worked out.

“ _Wouldn’t happen to know anyone who can tune a piano do you?”_ She asked them over her shoulder.

“ _No, but we could find one pretty easy,”_ Miguel offered with a chuckle.

“ _These got here fast? Is Starkman trying to impress me or something?”_ Blix questioned staring at all of the boxes.

“ _Possibly. You are the Lady of Cali after all,”_ Gilberto said grandly, with a laugh.

She turned to look at him in surprise, “ _The Lady of Cali? When did I earn that title?”_

 _“It’s what the other cartels referred to you as, after the party. Kind of stuck with everyone here,”_ Miguel explained, with half a shrug.

“ _You made quite the impression on everyone. You are well liked,”_ Gilberto said proudly.

She smiled looking at the boxes. Most were notated as books and then one was marked “Blix’s Room.” She reached over into Pacho’s pocket, grabbing the pocketknife she knew he carried, to open it.

She held the knife, trying to control the shakiness she felt as she cut open the tape. A moment later, she set the knife down, and pulled the flaps open. Inside she could see several trophies, and a couple of small knickknacks. But the thing that caught her eye the most was the large, dark brown teddy bear.

She bit her lip as she reached in and pulled him out. She stared at him for a minute, memories flickering through her mind. When she first got him, the comfort he brought, leaving him behind when she ran away.

She slowly set him back inside, shaking her head.

“ _Umm. I’m not quite sure what to do with all of this?”_ She wondered turning her gaze to Pacho.

“ _We’ll figure it out. C’mon. Let’s go eat,”_ He suggested, holding his hand out to her.

She takes it, holding onto it tightly as they made their way to the table to eat.

Elsewhere, in La Catedral, Escobar was concocting a plan. Blackie had come to him with some interesting developments.

He wanted to get back at the Cali Cartel, but he had to get rid of their little federal agent. Not permanently but distracted. Away from them for a time.

He made a call to Valeria and slid the information to her.

“ _Sorry, Miss Lage, but this is too good to pass up,”_ He murmured to himself looking down at the file.

Back with Blix, she was listening to Gilberto tell a story about Pacho from when he first began, trying not to laugh at it.

Halfway through the story, Diego came in, and he looked distraught.

“ _Diego? What’s up?”_ She asked him concerned.

Diego didn’t speak, just turned on the TV that was setting in the dining room. He switched it to the channel where Valeria Vasquez was reporting.

“ _And in other news, I have just received info from an anonymous source. Scandalous information about a US Senator,”_ Valeria teased, her eyes bright.

Blix froze, sitting up straight.

“ _US Senator Alexander Danvers had quite the illustrious affair about 30 years ago. Now, you are probably wondering… Valeria? What does that have to do with us? Well. That affair led to a bastard child. Federal Agent Blix Lage of the FBI…. Whose stationed here in Colombia,” Valeria reported._

Blix stood up suddenly, pacing back and forth. 

“ _I’m going to kill him. That bastard. That fucking bastard. To hell with the DEA, to hell with extradition. I’m going to murder him. Him and that bitch,”_ She muttered angrily, as she paced.

“ _Honey? Kill who?”_ Pacho asked, stepping into her path, trying to get her to focus and calm down.

“ _Escobar! OBVIOUSLY! ‘An ANONYMOUS source?’ When EVERYONE knows she’s whore herself out to that man for any information to BOOST her career!”_ She exclaimed, furious.

“ _Can this week get ANY worse?”_ She murmured defeated, resting her head against his chest.

She heard her phone ring and she groaned loudly as she looked at the ID.

“ _Yes, Ambassador?_ ” She greeted her voice strained.

“ _Get to Bogota. We apparently have a guest on their way here. This story has been running for the past hour and has made its way to US media. This is a scandal we did not need Miss Lage,”_ Crosby informed her.

“ _Yes sir. Right away,”_ She answered robotically hanging up.

“ _I have to go to Bogota. Again. Apparently… guests are making their way to the Embassy. Joy,”_ She relayed grimacing.

“ _Wait. Rewind a bit… Your father is a senator?”_ Miguel questioned confused.

“ _Unfortunately. Moved his way from small town mayor, to governor of Georgia, to US Senator. My half-brother is currently running for governor himself,”_ She explained dully.

Gilberto and Miguel looked at her surprised.

“ _Don’t get excited. That man hasn’t acknowledged my existence once. Doubt my dear lil brother even knows I exist,”_ She stated, cutting off any ideas that may be forming.

“ _When I come back from this train wreck encounter, we are going to sleep… for 5 weeks,”_ She said to Pacho, exhausted.

He pulls her to him, pressing kisses to her face, whispering, “ _Sounds like a plan_.”

She went upstairs, packing a bag for a few nights, planning to stay at a hotel. She angrily threw in some clothes, slowly stopping. She closed her eyes, wishing that this was just some terrible nightmare. She collapsed to her knees, the stress of the past week hitting her hard.

She found herself crying into her hands, as silently as she could. She knew one day her past would catch up to her. She just didn’t think it would happen all at once. She was tired. She was tired of pretending she was okay. So, in the silence of her room, she cried.

Pacho made his way upstairs to check on her and stopped when he heard her sobs. He let her cry for a moment before he walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her. He gently lifted her into his arms, carrying her to the bed to lay her upon it. Once she was on the bed, he curled up next to her, softly wiping away the tears that had formed.

“ _Do you want me to go with you?”_ He asked in a whisper.

She shook her head, “ _No. The media will probably be all over me for a day or so. Don’t want the world to find out I’m also dating a cartel member.”_

He nodded once, before assuring her, “ _I’m here if you need me. I’ll hop on a plane to you. Just say the word. If not, I’ll be here waiting for you to return to me.”_

She smiled, sniffling as she tried wiping her face off to clear more tears.

“ _Regretting being with someone who has so much baggage yet?”_ She asked in a self-deprecating tone.

“ _No. Quite the opposite really. I’m quite in love with my Lady of Cali,”_ He confessed looking her in the eyes.

She felt her breath catch at that admission, and she could feel her heart swell with emotion.

“ _Pacho… I only just stopped crying and now you’re going to make me cry some more?”_ She inquired feeling tears in her eyes again.

“ _Are they happy tears?”_ He lightly questioned.

“ _Yes. They are. Especially when… I’m pretty sure I’m falling for you too,”_ She admitted kissing him.

“ _Good to know. Now, get to Bogota. Deal with your shit father. Come home to me and I’ll make sure you won’t be leaving my bed for hours if not days,”_ He promised her.

She nodded her head agreeing, before sitting up and walking into the bathroom to clean herself up real quick. Once she was done with that, she finished packing and was off to Bogota. The brothers had paid for a hotel room for her, telling her to get whatever she wants.

So, when she checked in, she ordered a small sandwich and fries. It was late by the time she got in, and the ambassador called her again to tell her to be at the embassy at 8am sharp and that even the president of Colombia would be joining them.

She ate quietly, before falling into a fitful sleep. When she woke up the next day, she was not prepared to face whatever hell that was waiting for her.

She showered, got dressed, and 15 mins before 8am she was at the steps of the embassy. There were reporters and photographers everywhere. She sighed and stepped out, pushing past the crowd that was shouting questions at her.

“ _What’s it like to be the bastard child of a US Senator?”_ She hears Valeria ask her just as she was about to reach the top.

She stopped, annoyance racing through her entire being.

She turned sharply around to her, and threw back, “ _Valeria. What’s it like being such a mediocre reporter that you lie about your ‘anonymous sources’ when we all know who you get your info from?”_

Her face fell and was filled with rage as several other reporters laughed then coughed.

“ _Tell Mr. Escobar I say hello,”_ She spat out, turning away from her and walking inside.

She made her way up to conference room, ignoring the stares and whispers that erupted all around her. She stepped inside, ignoring the 3 people who were sitting down. She greeted the president and the ambassador first. She slowly turned to look at the older gentleman that sat in the middle.

His hair was once a dark brunette that now has streaks of grey, his eyes were bright green. The woman besides him, was blonde and demure looking. The last man, as she turned her gaze to take him, was her age… and honestly, they looked like they could be twins.

“Hello senator,” She greeted somewhat dully.

She took her seat and waited for the ambassador to speak.

The ambassador informed her that they are unaware of what exactly the evidence was that tied her to the senator. As he spoke, senator Danvers cut in claiming this was all a lie, a scam. That he had no idea who I was.

His denials infuriated her.

She stood up suddenly and stared him in the eyes.

“Listen. I didn’t want this. I don’t care about you. But don’t you dare lie. You had an affair. You had me, then your son. You abandoned me without a second thought. Don’t you dare say that you have no idea who I am, when we,” she pointed to the younger man, “look like twins.”

He stopped and stared at her stunned.

“I lived with this knowledge since I was 10. Just ask your wife. She knew. She knew the whole time,” She informed glancing over at her. “In fact, she was the one who told me all about it.”

“Martha, what is she talking about?” He quietly asked her.

“Yes Martha. Tell him. Tell him how you hired me to help you work on your garden and how you told a 10-year-old that she was not only a bastard, but unwanted by both of her parents,” Blix stated bitterly.

Martha looked away, not wanting to meet anyone’s eyes.

“Listen. I don’t want to start a fight or interrupt your life. I was quite content in you not being in my life. I get it. My mother… she was a leech. I understand why you left her… but you left me too. And my mother made sure… to let me know that I was not wanted,” She admitted, motioning to the scars on her face.

“I have spent the past 30 years without you. I can live the next 30 or so without you. Go back home. I don’t want you in my life,” She concluded firmly.

She stepped out of the conference room and made her way downstairs to the DEA department. She spotted Steve but no Javier, so she stole his seat.

She collapsed and sat rather lazily in the chair, slumped.

“Rough day?” Steve asked taking in her posture.

“Rough week. My psychotic mother passed, had to reconnect with my sisters, dealt with some bullshit over the will which led to an arrest for white collar, someone figured out who my father is, and he and his family are upstairs trying to deny everything,” She summarized.

“Can I hide here for a time?” She asked glancing over at him.

“Sure, if you help go through these transcripts,” Steve bargained holding a stack of papers.

“Deal,” She replied taking the stack.

She sat with him for an hour, going through transcripts and helping him find any leads.

Javier eventually appeared, raising an eyebrow at her in his chair. He pulled up another chair next to her, taking half of her remaining stack. She smiled at him, as he teasingly nudged her with his elbow. They quietly worked until Theo appeared.

“Hey boss, sorry to interrupt. Um. There’s someone asking for you upstairs?” Theo tells her.

She nodded her head, finishing the sentence she was on before standing up. She ruffled Javier’s hair with her hand and reached over to do the same to Steve.

“Bye guys. Good luck,” She said, following Theo.

Theo glanced at her a few times, when they stepped into the elevator.

“Please don’t ask,” She quietly pleaded.

“Ask what?” Theo asked acting confused.

She smiled appreciatively at him. When they got up to their floor, she paused when she sees her half-brother standing by their offices.

She made her way to him cautiously.

When she was finally before him, she greeted, “Hi.”

“Hey,” Came his voice, slightly raspy. “Can… can we talk?”

She nodded and led him to her office. “I’m sorry it’s kind of small.”

Her office barely had room for the 2 chairs and desk. He waved it off.

“So. I… I gotta say… I don’t know how to start this. Um. But I guess. The beginning is best? I’m Ajax. 30. Sagittarius. Hoping to be Governor when I grow up. And would love to get to know my older sister, if she’d let me?” He introduced, rubbing the back of his neck.

Blix smiled awkwardly, and followed suit, “Blix. 30. Scorpio. FBI agent, lead investigator of the art crimes division here in Colombia. And…I would love to know about my little brother too.”

She laughed when she realized after a moment, she was doing the same neck rub he did.

“We… have the same fidget behaviors,” She muttered.

“I hear you’re a fighter and a damn good one,” Ajax complimented.

“I hear you have a really good shot at being Governor. If I was in Georgia, I may have to vote for you,” She said to him.

“Listen. My mom…I’m sorry she made you feel that way when you were younger. My… **Our** dad will come around eventually. He just… was shocked to say the least,” Ajax apologized.

“Mh.” She was doubtful but didn’t say much to disagree.

They talked a few more minutes and exchanged numbers to keep in contact.

She had to have few more talks with the ambassador and president for the next three days to assure that this was not going to affect her job. Once she was finally free, she made her way back to Cali on a late flight.

When she landed, she was greeted by Diego who was waiting for her.

“ _Honestly, I’ve never been happier to see you. Would it be weird if I hugged you?”_ Blix politely asked as she stood in front of him.

Diego smirked and held his arms open to her. She hugged him, feeling relieved. They get into the car and start to drive. About halfway there she noticed something was off.

“ _Why are you being so quiet? What happened?”_ Blix questioned looking at him concerned.

“ _He didn’t want me to tell you… but you should know. There was an attempt against Pacho… Yesterday. Escobar’s men tried to kill him while he was playing soccer,”_ Diego explained not looking at her.

“ _But he’s okay, right?”_ She was worried.

“ _Yes. Shaken up. But fine,”_ He assured her.

She let that information sink in. She knew it was only a matter of time before an incident like this happened. She wasn’t quite sure what her reaction was going to be when she sees Pacho. She did know that Escobar had no idea who he was dealing with.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fluffiness. Just a whole lotta fluff.

Diego brought her home and she practically ran to him, when Navegante told her he was outside. She took him in once she spotted him, standing there looking out over the grounds. He was wearing bright yellow pants, a white button up shirt that appeared slightly see-through and a brown jacket over it.

She walked toward him, as he turned to look at her. As soon as she was in front of him, she slapped his arm.

The loud ow in response was satisfying.

“ _You weren’t going to tell me you had been shot at?_ ” She demanded.

“ _I told Diego not to tell you because I didn’t want to worry you_ ,” Pacho explained rubbing his arm slightly.

“ _No. You don’t…. you don’t get to decide that. If something had happened to you_ ,” Her voice trailed off, as she felt tears begin to form in her eyes.

Pacho slowly pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly. She grasped the lapels of his jacket firmly in her hands and tried to take a deep breath to calm herself.

“ _I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you_ ,” He whispered to her.

She took a moment to gather herself and turned her head up to look at him.

“ _No more secrets… I’m all in_ ,” She whispered to him.

He straightened up, staring at her seriously.

“ _You realize what that means? Do not say that if you are not aware of the repercussions of this. I want you by my side, but only if you are fully aware what that entails,”_ Pacho stated clearly, looking at her closely.

“ _I know. I realize that. If you need me to, I will say it again in the morning. But I doubt my statement will change. I… I realized while in Bogota, that I all I could think about was getting back here. To you. Nothing else really mattered,”_ She murmured looking him in the eyes, calmly.

His smile was small as he spoke, “ _Is that so?”_

She hummed in response, pressing a kiss to his chest, before standing on her toes to kiss his lips. He kissed back, softly cupping her face with both hands. The kiss lasted a few minutes and was sweet but passionate.

When she pulled away, taking in a breath as she eased back down to her feet.

“ _Let’s go to bed, yeah?”_ She mentioned as a yawn moved through her.

Pacho and her walked upstairs to his room, and they quietly got ready for bed. She stole another of his shirts and silently watched him dress down. He was very meticulous in his movements. His accessories all had a particular place that they returned to. His belt and shoes in the closet, his rings and watch on the dresser, and his clothes went into laundry baskets that were separated by darks, whites, and dry clean. It was an intriguing process to watch.

Once he was down to his boxers, he turned to look at her and smiled somewhat sheepishly when he realized she had been watching him the entire time.

“ _Yes?”_ He questioned.

“ _Sorry. It’s kinda adorable to watch you get ready for bed. It’s almost as endearing as watching you get dressed. I am not…. That focused. I don’t…. even think… I’ve ever separated clothes…,”_ She admitted somewhat awkwardly.

He moved toward her, standing in front of her, with a small smirk. He leaned down and pulled her into a deep kiss, which led to her slowly falling back onto the bed, his body covering hers.

They made out for several minutes, just enjoying the feel of one another; switching from slow and soft to fast and passionate.

His hand began to unbutton the shirt she wore, pushing it off to the side to further expose her.

“ _I vaguely recall… promising you that I would ravish you upon your return?”_ Pacho groaned as he stared down at her.

“ _Hmm. Yes. I recall something like that being said,”_ Blix replied with a smile as she kissed him a few more times.

They somehow slipped under the covers, as they undressed each other. His movements were slow and purposeful, making sure she felt every thrust, kiss, and bite. It was well into the morning hours by the time they stopped, and Pacho had made sure she was mush.

They fell asleep, limbs tangled with one another.

It was late morning by the time they had begun to stir.

Pacho had roused first and took a moment to quietly admire her. It was while he was doing this that Diego, lightly knocked on the door frame, announcing his presence.

“ _Hey, Gilberto and Miguel are waiting for you. Plus… apparently the wives want to take Blix out to brunch? Might want to get up soon,”_ Diego suggested with a shake of his head, as he watched Blix, who was waking up, groan and hide into the pillows.

Pacho nodded his head, chuckling at Blix’s behavior. He kissed her back and shoulders, trying to encourage her to awaken further.

“ _Lovely. Time to get up,”_ He whispered pulling the pillow away from her.

She groaned loudly in protest, her hands trying to find the pillow again to take it back. When she couldn’t she lifted her head with a frown.

She turned toward Pacho sleepily, and muttered, “ _Why must I wake?”_

 _“You apparently have plans,”_ He told her brushing her hair out of her face.

 _“Nooo. Why? Why plans?”_ She protested childishly grabbing the covers and hiding under them.

Both men laughed at her and Pacho got up, tugging her into following him. He led her toward the bathroom, and they took a shower together. It took her a moment to fully wake up as the hot water washed over them. They cleaned themselves up and relaxed.

When they stepped out, there was a dress waiting for her. She admired the gradient coloring from blue to orange, thinking it was very pretty. There was no bra but there was a pair of underwear waiting for her.

“ _Do you two…enjoy dressing me or something?”_ Blix asked as she looked over shoulder at Pacho.

“ _It is quite fun to be honest. Does it bother you?”_ Pacho asked poking his head out from his closet.

“ _No. But I do know how to choose my own outfits, I just wanted that noted. I love ya both, but I don’t need you to do this constantly,”_ She mentioned with a small smile.

He nodded his head in understanding and returned to getting dressed.

She got dressed in the outfit presented, slipping on the heels before stepping back into the bathroom to brush out her hair. She noted softly that there was a third toothbrush waiting for her to use. She brushed her teeth, before putting on a bit of makeup.

When she was done, she made her way toward her bedroom for one thing in particular. She had left her shark necklace on her dresser for safe keeping; didn’t want anyone to question it while she was in Bogota. She clipped it on and admired it for a moment in the mirror before heading downstairs.

As she stepped into the living room, she saw all 3 of Gilberto’s wives and Miguel’s wife, standing there waiting for her with Marta.

“ _Hello. What’s all this?”_ Blix greeted wondering why they were all there.

“ _We wanted to take you to brunch. Have a girl’s day essentially,”_ Marta explained cheerfully bouncing up to her.

Blix nodded her head and walked over to her messenger bag that she still had to unpack from her trip to Georgia. She pulled out the frame, followed by the bomber jacket that her sisters had given her.

Gilberto picked up the frame and cooed, “ _Aww. Look at this. You were very cute. I assume this was your horse that Pacho mentioned? Zeus?”_

“ _Yes. Zeus was a thoroughbred. He won best in show and was a damn good racehorse. Even though he hated his rider. Would only ever let me ride him without complaint,”_ Blix stated proudly looking at the frame.

Mariela, Aura, and Camila, however, were distracted by the bomber jacket she had pulled out.

“ _Awww. This is very cute! I bet this would look adorable on any little one you have. Maybe you and Pacho should get to work on that,”_ Mariela, Gilberto’s first wife, noted.

“ _What should we get to work on?”_ Pacho questioned as he joined them.

“ _Nothing!”_ Blix quickly cut in setting the jacket down and hiding it away, as her cheeks turned red.

He looked at her curiously, reaching for the jacket to look at it. He raised an eyebrow at it, glancing at her and Mariela. He knew what she was probably referring to as he looked at the jacket, but said nothing as he handed it to Diego, requesting he put it someplace safe.

Blix looked at him appreciatively as the women led her out to one of the cars.

Soon enough they were at some 5-star restaurant, having brunch and mimosas.

“ _So, Blix. Tell us. Have you thought about having little ones with Pacho?”_ Camila asked in a teasing voice.

Blix cleared her throat awkwardly, before taking a long drink of her mimosa. The other wives joined in, asking her how many and what not.

It wasn’t until Stella, Miguel’s wife, cut in, “ _Ladies. Relax. If they want kids, they’ll have them. Their relationship is still pretty new as well. Stop making her feel uncomfortable.”_

Blix nodded gratefully at her and simply stated, “ _We… we haven’t talked about any of that. It’s also not something… I’ve ever really thought about.”_

They all nodded in understanding and they continued on talking about everything else. The ladies insisted upon taking her shopping and getting more… saucy outfits for her to wear for Pacho.

When they stepped out of the fifth store, and she had about 15 bags of clothes that they claimed she needed, she was never more grateful to see Navegante.

“ _Save me,”_ She mouthed stepping forward.

He laughed at that and said, “ _Ladies. I’m sorry to interrupt but I must steal Miss Lage here for now.”_

They all made sad groans and waved goodbye to her. Once they were out of sight and she was alone with Navegante she begged, “ _Please. Help. I can’t feel my hands.”_

She held out her arms, and Navegante quickly took several bags, tossing them into the trunk. She set the last of them in the trunk once the weight was eased off of her. She took a seat in the passenger side as Navegante got in on the driver’s side. He drove off and she took a small snooze as he did so.

At some point, the car came to a stop and he was gently trying to wake her up. Pacho, who was waiting, walked up to her side, opening the door.

“ _I got this Navegante. She’s not easy to wake,”_ Pacho informed him with a laugh.

He gently cooed to her, telling her to wake up. Her eyes fluttered open after a minute and sighed deeply.

She blinked trying to figure out where she was at.

“Why are we at the ranch?” She rasped, clearing her throat, as she straightened up.

She unbuckled herself stepping out, taking Pacho’s hand into hers.

He led her over to a man that was standing there.

“ _Blix. This is Jack Walters. He’s a-”_ Pacho began to introduce.

“A breeder from Georgia. Hi. Um. How are you, sir?” Blix finished as she recognized him.

“Yes. Hullo. I am doing jus’ fine lil missy. Now. I hear, you were the original owner of my most favorite horse. Zeus. Mr. Hurrera asked me if I knew of any of his offspring available and well,” Came Jack’s very southern accent, as he motioned toward the trailer that was behind him.

She stared blankly at the trailer, as the info she was given processed in her mind. A stable hand came up to the door of the trailer and led out a large black stallion, that looked just like Zeus. She was amazed as she strolled over to him.

He stood proudly as she approached him, nudging his head against her as she reached out to pet him. He neighed softly as he gently pushed her, wanting more attention.

She giggled at him and looked back toward Jack, asking, “What’s his name?”

“Well. Like his grandfather, he is very particular about who goes near ‘im. He earned the named Phobos cause he struck fear into the hearts of most of the stable hands n’ riders. Honestly, I am surprised he is allowing ya to touch him,” Jack said amazed.

“He’s about 3 years old. His father was an offspring of Zeus named Ares. We tried to stick to the Greek theme, as was requested by yer grandparents before they passed,” Jack concluded, handing her documents that certified that he was indeed a part of his line.

She took them gratefully, holding them to her chest tightly. He then handed her something else. It was a strip of leather, that had Zeus’ name on it and some photos.

“I was told that… the selling of Zeus was something that… ya disagreed upon. So, I wanted ya to know that he was well taken care of and lived a very happy life,” Jack said sympathetically.

She takes the items from him, thanking him softly.

“Now then, me and my guys gotta head on back home. It was very nice to meet ya. I am sure Phobos will be happy here with ya taking care of him,” Jack waved goodbye as he walked over to the truck, driving off with an empty trailer.

When his truck disappeared, she turned back to Pacho, who stood there with a hand in his pocket, leaning against the hood of his corvette.

“ _You… you got me a horse_?” Blix asked amazed as she looked between him and Phobos who was rubbing his face against hers.

She laughed at him as he moved to stand between her and Pacho.

Pacho cautiously moved toward her, Phobos giving him side eye as he did so. He allowed him to pet his back but refused to move out of the way.

“ _Yes. It took some time to figure out where Zeus wound up, but when I did, I found out he had many children, and a few grandchildren. So. I called up Walters and asked if he had one who looked like Zeus. The rest was just a business deal_ ,” He answered with a smirk. “ _He has his own stall already.”_

He nodded toward the empty stall at the end and she was happy to see his name was already written on it as well. She quietly led Phobos over to it, checking that he had plenty of hay and water to eat before leading him all the way in. He calmly followed, and settled in quickly, munching softly on some hay.

“ _He was given a thorough brushing and was given a good walk before you showed up. He was in the trailer for like 5 minutes before you arrived. I wanted it to be a surprise_ ,” Pacho informed her as she closed the stable door.

She looked at the door, biting her lip as she looked at the lock.

“ _You might… want to have someone to change this. If he’s anything like Zeus, he’s wicked smart. He will be able to unlatch this_ ,” She advised him looking at the simple latch on the door.

“ _Good to know_ ,” Pacho said, watching as Blix dusted off the horsehair that had managed to get on her.

She turned to him once she was done, throwing her arms around him, kissing him. He lifted her up slightly, kissing back.

They pulled apart and she turned back to Phobos, “I promise. Tomorrow I will come back, and I’ll show you the grounds.”

He neighed loudly in response and nodded his head.

The two of them moved to his car and they drove back home. They walked inside, where the brothers were waiting, discussing plans.

“ _Ah. Did you enjoy your surprise my dear?”_ Gilberto asked as he noticed them walking in.

“ _Very much,”_ She replied leaning into Pacho’s side.

“ _Pacho informed us… that you want to be all in? Correct? Do you know what that means my dear?”_ Miguel questioned.

She nodded her head firmly, “ _Yes.”_

“ _Pacho, you are head of security. You decide how much she needs to know,”_ Gilberto declared with a grin.

Blix looked at him, and he led her upstairs to his office. He led her over to the filing cabinets.

“ _These… these cabinets are filled with everything you would ever need to know about the Cali Cartel. I want you to be aware of the trust you are being presented,”_ He disclosed pulling out a small key from within his desk.

He handed it to her, and as she took it, he backed away and allowed her to move forward.

She looked at him and then the key, “ _Everything… is in those 3 file cabinets? I… feel like that’s a lie.”_

 _“It is. But I wanted to see your reaction. These cabinets are mostly about distribution and who does what. The real key is the large data book you’ll see Miguel carry around. That is our financial ace in the hole. If DEA ever got ahold of that, they would know everything,”_ Pacho revealed as he leaned against his desk.

 _“So…this was a test?”_ Blix asked lightly, toying with the key.

 _“In a way, yes. I wanted to see what your reaction would be. You did not disappoint,”_ Pacho stated with a smirk.

She handed the key back to him, or at least tried to. He closed her opened hand, giving her fist a small kiss.

“ _You currently hold the key to my heart. Keep it safe,”_ He flirted his hands coming to rest on her hips.

She smirked and shook her head at the cheesy line but held the key tightly in her hands.

He led her back downstairs to the brothers who were chowing down on some food that the chef made. Pacho moved over to the couch, and Blix followed, collapsing into his lap. She kicked off the heels she was wearing to curl her feet up on the couch.

While the brothers ate and talked about a soccer game going on, her and Pacho simply relaxed.

“ _So, what was Mariela talking about this morning when I came in?”_ Pacho asked his voice teasing.

“ _She was saying we should have kids. Which later led to further discussion that apparently, we would have cute ones given our looks,”_ Blix whispered in response.

“ _Oh. Yes. I agree. We would have cute kids. Only if you wanted them though,”_ He replied back kissing her cheek.

“ _Never really thought about it to be honest. I also lived far longer than I thought I would too,”_ Blix admitted quietly.

Pacho nodded in understanding.

“ _We can discuss that in the future if you’d like?”_ He offered her.

She nodded once, turning her head to kiss him on the lips in thanks.

“ _So… where did all my boxes wind up, by the way?”_ She asked realizing the only thing that was in the living room was the piano.

“ _The books have placed in your library. The box that was marked your room and a few others, are in your closet, waiting for you to go through. We have someone coming out tomorrow to tune the piano as well,”_ He listed out casually.

“ _My library?”_ She questioned, her brow furrowing in confusion.

“ _I’ll show you later. I was thinking… Maybe we could move some of your stuff here. You stay here often enough as it is,”_ He proposed his hand fiddling with hers.

She thought about it for a moment, before replying, “ _Sure. I’d like that. Saves me the trouble of having to buy groceries. I’ll use it as my office space. That way we won’t have to move that. Plus, it maintains my cover for work.”_

He kissed her softly, his arms holding her tightly to him.

“ _Pacho. Do me a favor? No more soccer games. You got lucky this time, but I don’t want to see what happens when that luck runs out,”_ She requested as she watched the brothers argue over the game with a raised eyebrow.

He hummed quietly, “ _I will try not to make risky moves, but my dear. I am who I am. My life will always be in danger.”_

 _“I know. I get that. I just…”_ She trailed off.

 _“What lovely?”_ He questioned.

She looked him in the eyes, and she spoke truthfully, “ _I love you.”_

His eyes widen in slight surprise, but his smile grew, as he replied back, “ _I love you too.”_

She kissed him again, and he kissed back with growing passion. They broke apart when they heard loud exclamations from Gilberto, laughing.

She stood up and allowed Pacho to get up as well, and he went to go see what was going on with the game. Blix stood there for a moment before making her way upstairs. She stepped into her room, dragging the boxes that were in the closet, out.

She opened them all up and started to go through them. When she pulled out the bear again, she simply set him by the laundry, planning to wash him when she could.

She pulled out several old trophies from dance competitions and such. She placed them over by the one wall in her room that had nothing on it.

When that box was emptied, she broke it down setting it by the door. She looked at the other boxes, one of which had tea set painted with cherry blossoms. As she dug further into the box, she found more antiques that her mother had collected. Most of which were antique weapons: knives, daggers, and a mace to name a few.

Which slowly made her realize… what was probably in one of the other boxes. She set the dagger she was holding on the floor, walking on her knees over to the next box. She ripped it open with a grin she couldn’t hide.

Inside, in delicately placed pieces, was a full suit of armor. She couldn’t help the laugh of pure joy that escaped her as she pulled the helmet out, examining it. It was heavier than she remembered it and was in dire need of a polishing.

Diego who had heard her laugh as he patrolled, stepped inside, curious as to what she was reacting to.

“ _Is that… a suit of armor?”_ Diego asked incredulously as he took in the scene before him.

Blix nodded excitedly, “ _Wanna help me set it out?”_

Diego was over to her in the blink of an eye, helping her pull out each piece gently and laying them out on to her floor.

There was a larger/long box that had the stand and the sword wrapped up inside. She got the stand ready setting it in a corner of her room. Toward the bottom of the box of armor pieces her sisters had sent some polishers, brushes, and towels. The two of them began to make the pieces shiny again, talking idly.

By the time they were done, and had placed the armor on the stand, it was about dinnertime. Pacho came looking for them, and he watched the two of them quietly, leaning against the door frame. He was happy to see the two of them getting along and bonding.

He cleared his throat, drawing their attention away from their project.

“ _Dinner is ready you two,”_ Pacho tells them.

They go and wash their hands quickly, before joining Pacho at the door. The three of them walked downstairs to the dining room, Blix and Diego taking either side of Pacho.

They had dinner and the guys went outside to drink and swim. While they did that, Blix went into his office, key in hand. She opened the first cabinet with a deep breathe, pulling the drawer open revealing numerous files.

She grabbed a handful, took a seat at his desk, and began to read through them. He was correct in that most of it was distribution information but there were also details on security. Who could be trusted and who they kept a close eye on.

She read quietly, trying to take in as much info as possible, stopping at one point to find a notepad to write things down. She was so focused she didn’t notice how late it had gotten by the time she had gone through 2 drawers on the first cabinet.

In fact, it was around 3am when Gilberto walked in, rubbing his eyes, trying to figure out who was still awake at this hour.

He watched her curiously, as she made notations every so often.

“ _Late night reading my dear?”_ Gilberto asked causing her to jump slightly as she looked up.

She looked around, finding the clock, and realizing just how late it was.

“ _Didn’t realize the time,”_ She rasped slightly, before clearing her throat.

Gilberto walked in, taking the seat across from her.

“ _Pacho cares a great deal about you. The fact that he has allowed you such access means a lot. Not even Alvaro has seen these files. There will come a time where your loyalty may be tested. I trust… you will not break his heart,”_ Gilberto informed her.

“ _I don’t plan to. I know I am in deep. But I also know… I love him. I don’t plan to hurt him anytime soon. At least… not unless he asks me too,”_ Blix stated with a smirk.

Gilberto laughed at that, nodding his head.

“ _C’mon. To bed with you. You can finish your homework after you’ve slept,”_ He said in a somewhat serious tone.

She takes the files that she had been working on and placing a sticky note on it, as a reminder as to where she stopped. She locked the cabinet back up and Gilberto escorted her to her bedroom, before returning to his room.

She took off the dress she had been wearing all day, throwing on a Yankees t-shirt and some sweats. She slipped under the covers with a sigh and slept soundly.

She slept well past breakfast, which caused Pacho to worry slightly.

“ _Do not worry too much Pacho. She stayed up late doing homework,”_ Gilberto stated trying to ease his worries.

Pacho looked at him confused, “ _Homework?”_

 _“I found her reading over files in your office,”_ Gilberto elaborated with a smirk.

Pacho shook his head and got up to go check on her, anyway. She was buried underneath her covers, sleeping soundly. He noticed that her hands had smudges of ink on both of them. He gently brushed some of her hair out of her face, stroking her cheek lightly.

Her eyes opened slowly, noticing the tickling sensation. She spies Pacho’s figure standing there, and she simply opens her covers beckoning him in.

He joined her with a smile, allowing her to wrap herself around him, tossing the blankets over their heads.

“ _Hi…. What time is it?”_ She asked in a whisper.

“ _It’s almost noon. You missed breakfast. Lunch should be ready in about 20 minutes though,”_ He reported to her.

She mouthed an ‘okay’ and buried herself into his arms further.

“ _Just wanna stay like this for a few minutes,”_ She explained with a sigh.

“ _I’m okay with that,”_ Pacho tells her, holding her close.

It was a moment of simplicity that she desperately needed. She enjoyed his company, even if it was just something as simple, hiding under her blankets. She knew that once she got up life would run at full speed, but here… life was slow and easy. So, she was going to enjoy it for a few minutes before returning to reality.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diego and Blix do some much needed bonding. Some drama. Canon typical violence. Some slight NSFWish moments in the form of fingering.

They laid there a few minutes more, simply enjoying one another’s presence, before with a small groan, Blix sat up.

She quietly stretched, turning her neck side to side, grunting at the small pops and cracks her neck made. Pacho straightened up next to her pressing a kiss to her shoulder.

“ _Gilberto said he found you in my office last night? Doing homework as he claims_ ,” Pacho teased as he brushed her back behind her hair.

“ _Just… trying to understand your world. Gotta say… it’s far more complicated than I thought it was_ ,” Blix lightly noted as she turned to look at him.

“ _It’s not all crazy parties and getting high. It’s a lot of work to be one of the best cartels in the world_ ,” Pacho said with a smirk.

Blix hummed in response, pushing off the covers, as both of them got up. Blix quietly got dressed, throwing on some shorts and a tank top. She finished getting ready, as Pacho waited, looking at all the things she had unboxed the day before. He stared at the items curiously.

“ _Your mother had very strange tastes_ ,” He muttered quietly as he picked up the mace.

“ _Indeed, she did_ ,” Blix stated as she walked up to him, ready for the day.

Pacho turned to look at her, “ _Not planning on using any of these on me, are you?_ ”

“ _Hmm. Don’t know. Depends on whether you’re a good boy or not. Don’t test my wrath_ ,” She said with a teasing smile as she walked past him, toward the hallway.

Pacho shook his head with a smile, before following after her.

They made their way downstairs, joining the others for lunch.

She got about halfway through her meal before she remembered she had to make some phone calls. She got up and called Theo to see where he had gotten on the warehouse that they believed was König’s. 

“Hey, so there is a lot of activity going on in a warehouse that’s allegedly abandoned. We’ve been monitoring it from a safe distance, and we’ve seen a lot of armed guards patrolling. We’ve seen König wandering the property, but we have yet to see anything damning,” Theo reported, a small yawn escaping him as he finished.

“Good to know. Keep watch for now, we’ll catch him soon enough. Has there been any other robberies I should be made aware of?” She questioned as she paced around the living room.

“None so far. Not sure if that’s good or bad. But I’ll keep you posted,” Theo answered.

“Yeah. Hm. He’ll mess up soon enough and we will be there when it happens. Talk to you later,” Blix ended the call with a small sigh.

She ran her hand over chin, in contemplation. She had slowly wandered down a hallway away from everyone and was near a door that was slightly ajar. She looked inside and saw something that made her smile. She pushed the door further open and saw books lining several shelves and cases.

As she examined the books, she realized they were the books that her sisters sent her from their mother’s home. She ran her fingertip down the spines of several, quietly remembering each story. Several were antiques of the classics and others were miscellaneous. She walked further in and noticed there was an area full of throw pillows and soft cushions surrounding a window nook.

The window, she noted, looked out over the grounds, and it was slightly breathtaking.

She sat on the seat, gazing out.

“ _See you found your library_. _Pacho will be sad that you found this before he could show you,”_ Diego’s voice came from behind her.

“ _I’ll act surprised when he shows me. He set this all up just for me? Why?”_ She asked looking around from her seat.

“ _Isn’t it obvious by now? He cares for you. Loves you even. Just like he does me,”_ Diego responded as he joined her.

“ _Are you okay with that though? Sharing him? I know we never actually really sat down and talked this out,”_ She mentioned as she made room for him to join her.

“ _I’ll admit in the beginning, I wasn’t thrilled by you,”_ Diego began.

“’ _Wasn’t thrilled?’ You tormented me for days!”_ Blix exclaimed shoving him lightly.

“ _Okay. I was an ass. The point is, I see now, you are not just some fling of his. You make him happy in ways that I cannot. Just like I make him happy in ways you can’t. He wants both of us. We are not fighting for his attention. He wants us, we want him. That’s that. Plus, he’s allowing you to see the inner workings of the cartel; information that is usually pretty heavily guarded. If he trusts you with that, then I can trust you with him,”_ Diego explained, taking her hands into his.

Blix nodded once in response, with a small smile.

“ _So… is he going to be busy with the brothers today?_ ” She inquired after a moment.

“ _Probably, why?”_ Diego asked looking at her curiously.

 _“Well. One, I promised Phobos I would take him out for a ride today. Two, I just thought me, and you can hang out. Get to know one another. If you ‘re cool with it,”_ She proposed.

 _“How about tomorrow? I have somethings I need to do this afternoon, but tomorrow I am pretty much free. We could run around town if you’d like?”_ Diego countered.

 _“Sounds good to me. Now, gotta harass someone in to taking me to the ranch,”_ Blix muttered thinking of who to choose.

 _“Or… I’ll drop you off on my way out. Gotta head out anyway,”_ Diego offered.

 _“Ooh. Yes. Lemme go put on boots,”_ Blix said excitedly, getting up.

She rushed upstairs to get her socks and some boots. She hopped on one foot each, as she threw them on. She ran downstairs, meeting up with Diego; they hopped into his car, driving off.

In no time, he had dropped her off. She walked over to Phobos’ stall, grabbing a brush on her way to him. She pulled him out of his stall, taking him to a small post to tie him to. She began to give him a thorough brushing, quietly talking to him.

Once he was brushed, she saddled him up and began to trot around with him. She walked around with him, letting him get used to her. They spent a good 2 hours wandering the grounds before returning to the stables.

Navegante was waiting for her when she got back with Phobos. She got him settled back into his stall and stretched for a moment before joining Navegante. He took her back to Pacho’s home, dropping her off before disappearing himself.

She walked inside and was told by some guards that Pacho and the brothers had left; Pacho should be back by tonight though.

She decided to just continue her reading upstairs in his office. She spent a few hours doing that, when a guard informed her dinner was ready if she was. She got up and made her way downstairs, after securing the files she had pulled out. She took the plate of food, eating at the table, somewhat watching the soccer game that was playing on the television.

She had just finished eating, when there was a knock at the door.

“What the hell?” She whispered as she got up.

She grabbed a gun that was hidden in a drawer, walking toward the door. She opened it cautiously, gun tucked behind her back.

She stared at the man before her. She had never seen him before, but noticed he looked somewhat familiar.

“ _Hello? Can I help you?”_ She questioned him.

“ _So, you’re the woman my boy is in love with? Seems he’s finally becoming a man,”_ Came a deep, gravelly voice.

It was then she realized why he looked familiar. He looked a bit like an older Pacho, but with Alvaro’s curls.

“ _Mr. Herrera. What brings you here?”_ She asked him dully, immediately annoyed by his presence.

“ _Wanted to speak to him. Found you instead. You’re much prettier to look at then he is,”_ He announced pushing his way inside.

“Yes. Please come in,” She muttered annoyed.

She quietly grabbed her phone, discreetly calling Pacho, hoping he picked up. She set the phone down on the counter, watching her intruder look around the living room.

She took a breath of relief when she saw that the phone had connected.

“ _Mr. Herrera. I don’t know why you are here, but you need to go. Pacho is not here, nor is Alvaro. You are not welcomed. So, either get out, or I’ll make you leave,”_ She warned him loudly, trying to gain his attention.

“ _Please. You’re not going to do anything. So, what is it about you that you turned my son back to a normal man?”_ He asked with a snarl as he turned to her.

“ _Normal? Oh no. He is still very much gay. He just enjoys my company. Get. Out.”_ She replied coldly, as she pulled the gun out.

He chuckled, somewhat darkly, “ _Are you really going to shoot me? I don’t think you have it in you, wench.”_

She narrowed her eyes in response, aiming the gun to a spot near his head. She took one shot, the bullet grazing his ear at it embedded itself in the wall behind him. He groaned loudly, touching his ear gingerly.

“ _Next one, will go between your eyes. Now get out. Leave me alone. Leave Pacho and Alvaro alone. Neither of them wants anything to do you with. You come near them again, and I will bury you so deep into the ground that the Earth’s core will incinerate your corpse,”_ She promised him, motioning with the gun for him to walk out the door.

“ _Such loyalty to a man who will only break your heart. Tell me, whatever did he promise you to receive such protectiveness?”_ He asked as he slowly moved to the door, his eyes fixated on the gun.

“ _Heh. He’s not the first man to ever break my heart, doubt he’ll be the last. Why does everyone think he bought me? Bought my loyalty? It’s truly starting to vex me. I’m a simple woman Mr. Herrera. Offering simple human decency is enough. Now get out of my home. I truly hate cleaning up blood,”_ She growled as she stepped forward.

She watched as he ran out, to his car, and made sure he drove off before closing and locking the door. She moved over to the phone, picking it up.

“ _Pacho. You there?_ ” She asked her voice cracking slightly.

“ _Yes. I’m here. I’m almost home honey. Is he still there_?” He inquired, his own voice shaking.

“ _No. He’s gone. Ya know… I expected your dad to be a piece of work, but I never thought that I would want to immediately strangle him once he started talking_ ,” She tried to joke, but in all honesty, she was a bit freaked out.

She hears him snort before replying, “ _Yeah. He’s… something_.”

“ _How… how far away are you?_ ” She asked in a whisper.

“ _5 minutes. Tops. Salcedo has already… detained… my father who we passed by on our way in. He won’t be bothering you anymore_ ,” Pacho firmly stated.

“ _I’ll see you in a few then_?” She confirmed as she took a seat on the couch.

“ _Yes. I’ll see you in a moment_ ,” Pacho tells her.

She slowly hung up, waiting on the couch for him. In a minute, the room was filled with guards and Pacho.

Pacho walked over to her, his eyes roaming over her, as he checked her.

“ _He didn’t hurt you, did he?_ ” Pacho questioned as he looked her over.

“ _No. I’m okay. He just… unnerved me a bit_ ,” She answered him.

Diego popped up next to them, whispering something in Pacho’s ear. Pacho simply nodded in response, his eyes never leaving hers.

The whole house was buzzing about with tension; several people were trying to figure out where the hell the guards were that was supposed to be there. Why was he able to come on the grounds?

Blix was tired of everyone fussing over her, 10 minutes had passed and everyone and their mom it felt, had come to ask her if she was okay. She stood up, and made her way upstairs, away from everyone and their concern.

She hid in her room, keeping the door locked. She went to bed, but it was a fitful sleep. When she finally woke up the next day, she felt exhausted as she sat up. She quietly got ready for the day, hoping a shower would wake her up, and wash away the funk she felt. She walked into her closet trying to decide what to wear, when she heard a rumble of thunder, followed by the sound of rain.

“Guess that answers that,” She mumbled to herself as she grabbed jeans, a shirt, and some boots.

She quietly got ready, unlocking her door, as soon as she was dressed. She strolled downstairs, smiling smally at the sight of Diego, who was leaning against the back of the couch, waiting.

“ _Hey. Ready to get out of here for a bit?”_ Diego asked her when he sees her.

She nodded, looking around. She spied Pacho in the kitchen, she slowly walked over to him. He was finishing up a phone call, when he spotted her. Once he hung up, he made his way to her.

“ _I’m sorry for just… leaving the room last night. Not used to that many people fussing over me. It was a bit overwhelming,”_ She whispered as he stood before her.

“ _It’s okay beautiful. I’m just glad you are okay. My father… he won’t be bothering us ever again. I’m sorry you had to deal with him by yourself. He should have never been able to get to the house,”_ Pacho said pulling her into his arms.

She hugged him back with a sigh.

“ _I hear you and Diego are spending the day together?”_ Pacho mentioned with a curious look.

“ _Yeah. I mean… we both care about you. May as well get along right? So, we are going to go get to know another,”_ Blix explained scratching the back of her neck.

“ _I like that you two are spending time together. Though now you two will conspire against me I feel. But I’ll deal with that later,”_ Pacho teased as he walked her back into the living room.

She chuckled at that, grabbing a jacket and an umbrella that was offered to her, as her and Diego made their way out to his car.

“ _Alright. Where we going first?”_ Blix asked as they started to drive.

“ _Figured we could go grab a bite to eat to go, followed by either some shopping or we could go to a museum?”_ Diego listed out as he fiddled with the radio for a moment.

“ _Food yes. Shopping maybe. Museum. Hmm. I’d be down for that. Be nice to go to museum that I don’t have to investigate,”_ Blix replied nodding her head to the music that was now blasting from the radio.

Livin on a Prayer by Bon Jovi was playing, and she began to rock out to it. Diego laughed for a moment before joining her.

When they got into downtown Cali, they picked up some muffins and hot teas to drink. They ate as they drove to a nearby museum. They parked, dashing inside the museum trying to avoid the rain as much as possible. They strolled around the museum, talking about each piece that caught their interests. Diego was apparently quite a history buff.

Blix looked at him with a soft smile.

“ _What? What’s with that look?”_ Diego questioned as they were finishing up their walk around.

“ _Nothing. It’s… it’s nice talking to someone who knows what I’m talking about without… having to explain 30 other events and situations. It’s honestly nice, having someone else explain new facts to me,”_ She explained with a shrug.

“ _Clearly, you haven’t dated the right men. Pacho especially loves art, ask him to take you to an auction sometime. He’d loved that,”_ Diego joked, throwing an arm around her shoulders.

“ _Hm. Loves art eh? Is that why he bought a Caravaggio without verifying it was real?”_ Blix snorted as they walked into the gift shop.

Diego choked on a laugh, “ _Oof. Well. First off, Miguel bought that and gifted it to Pacho. Pacho only kept it up because it was a gift. He hated it otherwise.”_

“ _Good to know. So, where should we go after this?”_ Blix asked staring at some trinkets.

“ _Don’t know. Where do you like to shop?”_ Diego asked picking up a glass figurine, staring at it before putting it back down.

She bit her lip at the thought that came to mind.

“ _Ever been thrift store shopping?”_ She inquired, with a raised eyebrow.

Diego looked at her surprised, “ _Noo. You… you like thrift stores?”_

 _“Yeah? Duh. Do I look like the kind of person who likes to shop at fancy-schmancy places?”_ Blix countered gesturing to her outfit.

 _“Soulmate. That’s what you are. Let’s go!”_ He excitedly said dragging her out to the car.

The two of them spent the next several hours, going to various thrift shops, trying on outfits and being goofy. The two of them both bought several things from each shop, items varying from outfits to accessories.

When they had their fill of shopping, they grabbed a bite to eat, parked on the side of the road, munching away happily.

“ _I don’t ask this to annoy you, but are you okay after last night? I’ve had the displeasure of meeting their father as well. It’s…”_ He trailed off making a face.

“ _Yeah. I’m okay. It was just unnerving how much he and Pacho looked a like,”_ Blix noted with a small shudder.

“ _Same. Took me a while to separate that what he said, did not come from Pacho himself. This is the third time he’s appeared out of nowhere and it’ll be the last. You can always talk to me about it. Pacho… he knows how terrible his father is but doesn’t quite understand why it’s hard to get over the things his father says,”_ Diego commented.

Blix nodded with a grateful smile, “ _Thanks.”_

The two of them finished their meal, tossing the remains into a nearby public trashcan. As they made their way back to Pacho’s house they talked about their pasts. He knew a great deal about hers so, he was telling her mostly about himself.

“ _Parents abandoned me when I was a kid. Bounced around in the foster system for a long while. When I was 17, I ran off, decided I wanted to make my own way through the world. Ran into Pacho, quite literally, and my life changed from that day forward,”_ Diego began.

“ _How did you ‘quite literally’ run into Pacho? Explain that good sir,”_ Blix wondered with a teasing smile.

“ _Was running from a cop, stole food cause I was hungry, and ran right into Pacho. Cop was fortunately on the Cali’s payroll, so Pacho just waved him off. Took me in, 2 months later we were together, and have been since,”_ Diego told her with a laugh.

Blix laughed softly at that, listening to him tell more stories about himself.

Soon enough they had pulled up to the house, and after grabbing as many bags as they could, they hurried inside. It took a few minutes to sort out what went to who, but soon enough they had parted to go placed their stuff in their rooms.

She was hanging stuff up when she heard Pacho’s voice, “ _Did you two have fun?”_

She looked toward him, before skipping over to him, “ _Yes. We did. It was a good bonding experience.”_

Pacho shook his head at that, pressing a kiss to her lips softly.

“ _Would you like to come swim with us? I think Diego may be a bit in love with you. Something about history and thrift shopping?”_ He ribbed lightly.

She kissed him back, walking over to her closet to grab a bathing suit. She grabbed a two piece, changing into it quickly. It was times like this she was glad his pool was indoors. She grabbed a towel, following Pacho to his room, where he changed as well.

Pacho after getting dressed, stopped and stared at her for a moment. He was checking her out, a smirk growing on his face as he examined her.

She noticed his staring, “ _What_?”

“ _Just admiring you_ ,” He stated simply as he walked forward.

She looked down and away, a slight warmth to her cheeks.

“ _Snake charmer. That’s all you are,”_ She muttered as she turned and led the way to the pool.

Pacho’s smirk only grew, especially as he was treated to her backside.

“ _Stop staring at my ass,”_ She called over shoulder.

Pacho slowly caught up to her as they entered the pool house. Diego was already doing some laps when they joined him. The water was warm, as she stepped in, dunking herself when she got in deep enough. She floated calmly as she heard the guys goofing around and splashing each other.

She felt one of them swim up to her, and she turned her head to see who appeared.

“ _May I ask where all of these scars came from?”_ Diego politely requested as he looked at her.

She straightened up, to stand, wadded over to the edge, pulling herself up to sit on it.

“ _Ask away,”_ She granted, ringing water out of her hair.

He came up to her and would point at a scar. Her answers tended to be brief as she explained them, many were from work and others were from her childhood.

Pacho had at some point joined them, listening quietly. Once she was done, Pacho slowly pulled her back into the pool. As she rejoined them in the water, Pacho kissed the side of her neck, gently. She turned her head to him, kissing his cheek. She moved forward, wanting to do some laps before she got too tired.

When she was done, she got out, wrapping her towel around her, watching Pacho & Diego for a moment. While they were distracted, she made her way inside the house, briefly stopping to get a drink. It was while she was taking a sip of her Pepsi that she heard a strange noise. Setting her drink down, she moved toward the sound, which led to the basement door.

She knew she should let it go and ignore it, but she couldn’t help herself. She opened the door, walking down the dimly stairs. As she reached the bottom there was a lone light shining onto a man, tied down to a chair.

She realized as she got closer that it was Mr. Herrera, who had been badly beaten. His head lulled up to look at her, hearing her footsteps.

“ _Well, well, well. My son’s whore. What brings you here? Want to take a few hits too?”_ He taunted, spitting out blood.

“ _No. Heard a noise. Making sure the house wasn’t haunted. Now that I see that it’s just you… well. I think I’ll let you die alone and miserable,”_ She responded disgusted.

She turned away from him, planning to just go back to her room.

“ _Wait. Don’t you turn your back on me. Come back here,”_ He demanded, with a groan and a cough.

“ _No. Don’t think I will. Enjoy the rest of your life. However short it may be,”_ She stated not turning around.

She could hear him yelling more profanities at her as she closed the basement door, grabbing her drink, and going upstairs.

Unaware that Pacho had seen her emerge from that room, he listened to his father’s shouts for a minute before ordering Navegante to get rid of him. He found Blix in her room, grabbing clothes to change into for bed, after her shower.

“ _You should join me in my room, once you are done_ ,” He told her, causing her to jump slightly as she wasn’t expecting him.

“ _Christ! Clearly need to throw a bell on you, so I have a warning system_ ,” Blix startled, pressing a hand to her chest.

“ _Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you_ ,” Pacho apologized before requesting. “ _I know that…sometimes curiosity can get the best of us. Do me a favor, please don’t go down to the basement anymore. For your own safety_.”

“ _I promise. I’m going to go clean up, and then I’ll join you in your room_ ,” She promised him.

About 20 minutes later, she was strolling into Pacho’s room. She had finished her drink beforehand and joined him on the bed.

“ _Diego joining us?”_ She wondered.

“ _Not tonight, he has other plans,”_ He whispered to her.

“ _Your dad… was he always like that? Or was he just good at hiding his hate before he found out about you?”_ She asked him, shaking her head.

“ _Hm. Let’s just say… my mother left him for a good reason. She was trying to gain full custody of us when he kicked me out. I didn’t care much. I was moreso worried about Alvaro. I was able to help my mother gain custody of him at least,”_ Pacho explained, as he wrapped his arms around her.

She returned his embrace, “ _That’s good….”_ She paused for a second. “ _I assume Navegante took care of him.”_

Pacho nodded in response, and Blix simply said, “ _Good.”_

She burrowed herself into his arms, growing tired.

“ _I did want to thank you though. For defending my honor. Not many people would be willing to shoot at their partner’s parent. In fact…”_ Pacho trailed off, as his hand slowly slid down her curves.

His hand languidly found its way into her sleep shorts, moving past her underwear. His fingers ran themselves up and down her slit, toying with her folds lightly. She took in a shuddering breath as his thumb brushed against her clit.

He gently slid a finger inside her, making a come-hither motion, before a second finger joined. The palm of his hand brushed against her clit teasingly, slowly working her up. Her body was growing warm, and breath short as his movements became more deliberate.

Soon his fingers found a spot that made her gasp loudly, her hands trying to find purchase wherever. His fingers moved over that spot several times, leading her to a swift orgasm. She rode out her orgasm for a moment or two before he pulled his hand away.

“ _Well. I was tired, but now I don’t really want to sleep,”_ She moaned softly.

“ _I was hoping you’d say that,”_ Pacho groaned as he rolled them over slightly, laying on top of her.

They spent the rest of the night trying to wear each other out.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Canon typical violence. Brief mention of Nazis. We see a darker side to Blix.

“The universe is against me. I swear it is,” Blix said annoyed, pacing in her living room.

It had been about a month since the incident with Pacho’s father, and in that month, everything decided to test her patience.

They had almost caught König twice, but a series of unfortunate events wound up getting in their way. One of which was 3 separate car accidents, and a bombing that happened within 30 minutes. The other was the weather and torrential rain and thunderstorms that caused many power outages.

On top of that, Pacho had gotten overprotective. He had upped security and had 3 armed guards following her everywhere. Armed guards that would also follow her while she was working, so that was fun. This led to several arguments between her and Pacho, which led to her hiding out in her own home.

She threw herself onto her couch, grabbing a throw pillow to press against her face and scream into it. She throws the pillow a moment later and huffed loudly.

Her phone rang, and she answered dully, “Hello.”

“Hey boss, there’s some activity going on at this warehouse. A large semitrailer just pulled in, and from what we can tell it’s being loaded up. We will keep you updated when it starts moving,” Came Theo’s voice.

“Gotcha. Thanks for letting me know,” Blix replied hanging up.

She stared up at her ceiling, sighing. A knock at her door, made her groan softly. She slowly got up, and moved over to her door, answering it.

“ _Gilberto. Why are you here?”_ She was surprised to see him there.

“ _Hello, my dear. I hope I am not intruding?”_ He wondered.

“ _No. Come in,”_ She moved out of the way to let him in.

She closed the door behind him once he was in and stood awkwardly while he inspected her home.

 _“Your home is quite quaint. Never been one for small places, but I like this,”_ He complimented after a moment.

She moved to sit on her staircase, and shyly said, “ _Thanks_. _It suits my needs.”_

Gilberto moved to sit next to her.

“ _Pacho… misses you. He wants to apologize but isn’t quite sure how to,”_ Gilberto informed her.

Blix snorted at that.

 _“Don’t get me wrong. I appreciate his concern I do. But I have never needed a man or armed guards to protect me. I just… wish he understood I don’t like hovering,”_ She said exasperated.

He chuckled, patting her knee, comfortingly.

“ _He’s not used to it. Not used to being with someone who is independent. Don’t get me wrong Diego is a fine man, but he tends to defer to Pacho. Pacho is not used to someone who… hates hovering,”_ He teased a bit.

“ _I love him. It’s nice to have someone who wants to keep me safe. I do not need 3 extra shadows following me everywhere. I cannot deal with that,”_ She said with a sigh.

“ _I understand. I came over to tell you, that you are missed. Pacho would like to make things up with you. We are having dinner tonight at Enchanté, at 7pm, we would love for you to join us,”_ He offered.

She smiled briefly, nodding her head. Gilberto pressed a kiss to her head, before walking out.

She spent a few hours doing paperwork, and around 6pm she stopped, staring at the clock. Well. Glaring at it more like. Why was she considering this? Why was she thinking about going to dinner with them in public?

She wandered into her closet, staring at her clothes. She grabbed a dress that she had never worn before. One that she had bought on impulse, but never wore. She quietly slipped it on, throwing on some matching nude pumps to go with it. She threw her hair up into a bun, putting on some pink lipstick.

She slipped on the shark necklace and grabbed her purse. She tossed in her phone and badge, and wallet. She made her way outside, waving down a taxi.

Around 20 minutes later, at approximately 7:05 she was standing outside _Enchanté_. She walked inside, spotting Gilberto immediately. She made her way to the table, a soft smile as she spotted Chepe and Miguel sitting there as well. Pacho’s back was to her, so he didn’t immediately see her.

She sidled up next to him, placing her arm around his shoulder.

“ _Is this seat for me?”_ She pointed to the empty chair next to him.

Gilberto nodded, and she took the seat, kissing Pacho’s cheek as she sat down.

She noticed from the corner of her eye, Pacho looked at her with surprise.

“ _So. What’s been happening? Must be pretty big if Chepe returned to us from his luxurious New York home,”_ She teased him with a smile.

“ _Rumor has it that Gallardo has been arrested. We’ve created a new deal with Mexico. Amado wants to celebrate it in a week with a party,”_ Gilberto informed her.

“ _Amado hopes to see you there as well. Apparently, he likes you a lot,”_ Miguel said with a laugh.

Blix rolled her eyes lightly.

She opened the menu glancing over it for a minute. The waiter came up and greeted them in French.

Blix greeted him back in French without thinking, “ _Hello, what would you recommend? ”_

The waiter looked at her surprised, but excitedly began to list out a few items that were his personal favorite.

She smiled at him as he spoke.

“ _How about you pull your favorite red wine to begin, and when you return, we should be ready to order, yes?” _She eventually said once he was done.

He thought for a moment and said in English, “I know just the thing.”

She turned back to the menu, and figured out what she wanted, closing it firmly.

“ _You know French?”_ Pacho asked her, making her aware that everyone was staring at her.

“ _Yes. In fact, I know several languages. Mother dearest made sure my sisters and I were well equipped for the business world as she would say. I had an ex-boyfriend say I had a talented tongue,”_ Blix said with a small scoff.

Pacho smiled at her, taking her hand into his own. When the waiter returned, he came back with a bottle of wine, which he poured out while describing it, before asking them what they wanted.

Miguel and Gilberto both ordered bouillabaisses. Chepe ordered a steak and Pacho duck confit with spicy pickled raisins. Blix ordered some roasted chicken and potatoes.

Once the waiter had taken their orders, she looked at the brothers and Pacho.

“ _Can you three be anymore pretentious? Duck and seafood soup? Really?”_ She joked looking toward Chepe. “ _So glad one of you is normal.”_

She raised her glass to his and they toasted one another.

“ _To us with simple tastes,”_ Chepe joined her in the teasing.

The others laughed at the 2 of them. Dinner was served soon, and it was about halfway through their meals when she heard her phone going off.

She answered it, “Hey Theo what’s happening?”

“König is driving the semitrailer. He just left the warehouse; I’m following behind him on Cortez street. Cynthia and Robbie are lying in wait at the warehouse,” Theo said somewhat out of breath.

“Cortez. Hold,” Blix said before asking the men around her, “ _What street are we on?”_

Chepe answered, “ _Cortez.”_

“Keep him coming my way Theo!” She said hurriedly, hanging up tossing the phone down.

She grabbed her badge, tossing it around her neck. She looked at Pacho, biting her lip.

“ _I need to borrow this,”_ She whispered, taking the gun he had holstered beneath his suit jacket.

She then ran out, telling people to move as she raced to the street. She spotted a semi coming her way and after a moment of squinting she recognized König in the driver seat.

She made her way to the middle of the street, holding her gun up. She fired a shot into the windshield, causing him to jerk the wheel and crash into a light pole. She chased after him as he hobbled out of the cab and ran down an alleyway.

She sprinted, trying to catch up to him. He turned around suddenly, pointing his own gun at her, shooting. She dived to avoid the bullets behind a dumpster, hitting the ground harshly. She waited a moment, getting back onto her feet, but keeping her head low. She peered around the dumpster and ran once she saw he wasn’t there.

She turned a corner, raising her hands up to block a fist that came straight for her face. The gun she was holding fell from her grip as she threw a punch out, hitting König in the face. He groaned and leaned down to try and pick up a 2x4. She dodged the first swing it but was not able to do so for the second swing. She felt her face sting and her ear slightly ring as it made contact with her face.

She dropped down as another swing came at her, and she picked up her fallen gun. She fired 3 rounds into his chest. He fell slowly to his knees, before falling down to the ground, dead.

She felt herself panting for a moment, before taking a deep breath, and getting back up on her feet. She dusted herself off, stumbling briefly as she made her way back out to the street. Theo came up to her, several Search Bloc officers following. The officers ran into the alleyway to take care of the body.

“You okay, boss?” Theo looked at her concerned, checking her face.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m good. Tell… Tell Cynthia and Robbie, and whatever officers that are available to take down that damn warehouse. This damn semi better have something valuable in it, or I just killed our prime suspect for nothing,” She spoke roughly, her voice coming out raspy.

They unlatched the back, shoving the door up to open it. Theo having grabbed a flashlight and crowbar, turned the light on. They could see several crates lining both sides of the trailer. Blix, with the help of Theo and another officer, climbed into the back. She took the crowbar from Theo and gently cracked opened the first she could get to.

She lifted it slowly, setting the lid to the side, before brushing away the straw she saw. Her eyes widened as she spotted what was in there. She looked around, biting her lip. She lifted a piece up slightly to examine it, dropping it back down when she noticed something engraved on it.

Theo came up beside her, “What’s ha- Ohmygod. Is that what I think it is?”

The crate was filled to the brim with gold bars.

“Wha- How? Where did he get this? This wasn’t on any of the manifests?” Theo questioned.

“Germany. Circa 1940s,” She whispered somewhat horrified.

“How do you kno-” Theo began to ask as he pulled one out to inspect it himself.

His question was answered as he noticed the insignia that was stamped, a swastika.

“Oh. I see. Well. Ahem. Let’s… get this all back to Bogota I guess,” Theo said dropping the bar like it burned him. “Knew there was a reason why I didn’t like this guy.”

They re-covered the crate and stepped back down to the ground, closing the door.

An officer came up to them with a radio and informed them that the warehouse had been secured. All the stolen art was safe. 

Blix ordered all of the art to be packed up and sent to Bogota, so they can do a final count and get everything sent back where they belonged.

Theo and Blix leaned against the semi, taking a sigh of relief.

“We did it. 2 and a half years of work,” Blix said a smile creeping on her face.

“Yeah. Yeah, we did,” Theo said proudly, holding a hand for a high-five.

Blix laughed as she slapped his hand enthusiastically.

“I know you’re not much of a hugger, but I think this calls for a hug,” Theo proposed holding his arms out.

“I think I can accept it just this once,” She replied hugging him.

She shouted when he picked her up and spun her briefly.

“Alright. Can you drive a semi?” Blix asked once they pulled away.

“Nope. But first time for everything,” Theo said clapping his hands.

“Alright. I gotta… go apologize to my date. I kinda left him hanging when you called,” She said awkwardly.

“I was about to ask… cause… pretty sure I’ve never seen so much of your legs before,” Theo ribbed.

Blix laughed, walking away. She made her way back into the restaurant, and over to the guys. She handed Pacho his gun and picked up her purse.

“Are you okay?” He asked concerned looking at her face.

“Yes. Just a scratch. I got to go. I’ll see you later,” Blix said kissing him quickly.

Several hours later, Blix and her team had drove all the stolen art to Bogota and had it in the evidence garage.

They had manifests from each museum and was sorting them into appropriate piles. The stuff that was not on the manifests was set to the side and itemized.

It was past noon once it was all said done. They all sighed heavily; Cynthia glanced over at Blix.

“Still haven’t gotten a hold of the ambassador?” She asked looking at the phone.

“Nope. Apparently, we are chopped liver,” Blix answered annoyed. “Alright. I’m going to go storm the castle and redeem our honor.”

“Yas. Bring us glory, our liege,” Robbie said in a deep voice.

Blix grabbed a bar of gold, holding it with a piece of cloth to hide it. She made her way upstairs, into the conference room, where the ambassador, the Colombian President, DEA and CIA were meeting together.

“So sorry to interrupt. Apparently, your phone is off the hook,” She said with a slight sneer.

“Hey, Javi. Steve. It’s a beautiful day, is it not?” She asked them with a grin.

“It’s raining?” Steve said confused.

“Glorious. So. Since, no one knows how to answer phones anymore. Let me get you up to speed,” Blix said with false excitement.

“König is dead. We have retrieved every piece of stolen art and awaiting a call to the museums to come be picked up. And…. Let’s see. What else? Oh, that’s right. I have something far more fascinating than Communist in the Jungle,” She listed out before tossing the bar with a clink onto the table.

“I have Nazis. I have about 200 more of those among other valuables from Germany, that we’ve dated back to the 40s. President Gaviria, you might want to contact the German Chancellor. I’m sure they’ll want to retrieve these items,” She announced.

She smiled at the looks of surprise from on everyone’s face.

“So. Without further ado. Um. Let’s see, fuck you,” She pointed to Simon, turning to Stechner. “Fuck you especially.”

She turned to look at Javi and Steve, “You two have a wonderful day. The both of you look lovely by the way.”

She grabbed the bar of gold again and bowed dramatically as she exited the conference room. She practically skipped back out into the cubicles toward the elevators.

“Fuck you. Fuck you as well. Shirley you deserve the world. Fuck all of you,” She pranced to the door. 

Was her behavior unprofessional? Sure. But years of people giving her and her team shit, she had earned this.

She made her way back downstairs, tossing the bar back with the others. It didn’t take long for the President to appear with the ambassador to view their work.

Within the hour, the evidence garage was full of news reporters, and museum curators. Blix and her team were asked to have their photos taken with everything, and despite her face being bandaged she took the photos and answered questions.

Once everything was said and done, they were simply waiting for a representative from Germany to arrive later that evening. By the time, they had sent that off with him, it was well past midnight. They had gotten all the paperwork done earlier, so once the evidence was signed off, they were able to relax.

The four of them collapsed in their office area, exhausted.

“The ambassador said we technically earned 2 weeks off. Which means that at some point one of the other agencies is going to steal me for some random mission, but all of you. Enjoy your time off,” Blix told them with a large yawn.

“Alright. I’m going to head back to Cali. You three, go home, tell your families I send my love,” She straightened up strolling out, with a tired wave.

She heard three voices say something in response. She got on a plane; a flight attendant had to wake her up when they landed. She mumbled an apology as she made her way off. When she stepped outside, she smiled tiredly seeing Pacho waiting for her, leaning against her car.

“ _Honey? Have you not been able to change?_ ” He asked her stifling a chuckle.

“ _No. I haven’t. I’ve been working nonstop for the past 24hrs. I want to collapse. I would love a shower and a meal and a bed to quietly die in. Not necessarily in that order,”_ She whined as she got into the car. _“I apologize if I smell.”_

 _“I am sure I will get over it. Do… do you want me take you to your home or mine?”_ He asked her hesitantly.

 _“Depends. Am I going to have 3 armed guards watch me go to the bathroom?”_ She asked not looking at him.

 _“No. I… I am sorry. We still don’t know why my men were not around to stop my father from entering the premises. I just want you safe. I overreacted. I should’ve… realized you are able to take care of yourself without my help,”_ Pacho replied with a sigh.

 _“Don’t get me wrong. I love that you want to keep me safe, I do. I just… don’t need the extra-ness. You want me to be safe? Then find whoever allowed your father to get on the property,”_ Blix requested turning to look at him.

Pacho nodded as he drove her to her home.

As he pulled up, he asked, _“Next Saturday… would you mind coming to that party? I’d… I would like you to be there. If you want.”_

 _“I’ll think about it. I’m going to spend a few days resting. I’ll let you know?”_ Blix answered leaning over to give him a kiss.

He nodded with a small smile.

A few days had passed, and she was informed that CIA was borrowing several agents for mission on Saturday. Javier, Steve and she were to chase down a rag tag team of Communists that were hiding in the jungle. She had to get up 5am, to meet up with the team in her full gear.

She was wearing cargo pants, a tank top under a bulletproof vest, a pair of tactical gloves, and combat boots. She had various weapons hidden on her person, and she grabbed her sniper rifle slinging it on her back. She had her hair pinned back, a hat, and sunglasses on. She made sure her FBI patched was set straight onto her vest.

She had grabbed her small duffel bag that she usually carried for these types of missions and was waiting for the rest of the team to arrive.

Javier and Steve appeared first, joining her in leaning against the police car that had picked her up.

“I knew this was going to happen. The CIA always like to rain on my parade. I was having such a lovely time, relaxing,” Blix grumbled.

Javier chuckled, “The sooner we do this, the sooner we can return to our regular lives.”

Finally, Stechner and Simon appeared and one helicopter ride later, they were in the middle of the jungle. The 5 of them alongside several officers then made a trek deeper into the brush. They were on a higher ridge, overlooking a slight dip in the tree line. Smacked dab in the middle of it, was a camp.

Simon spoke, “We know there’s at least 7 men on the perimeter, armed. At least 10 more in the camp itself.”

Blix nodded looking around. She set her bag down onto the ground, grabbing her bag filled with bullets meant for her rifle, tying it to her belt loop. She spied a large tree nearby and moved to stand underneath one of the branches. She jumped up, grasping the branch firmly, pulling herself up. She situated herself up on the branch, swinging her rifle around.

She loaded it, looking through the scope. She positioned the gun briefly, adjusting her grip. She took a deep breath as she found all 7 targets, noting their distances. She took out the one furthest from the camp, in one shot. She moved through the other 6 targets one by one, pocketing each spent round.

“Perimeter cleared,” She announced, jumping down.

Steve stared at her surprised, “We should go hunting sometime.”

Blix giggled patting him on the arm. They moved in formation, down to the camp, and cleared it in a few minutes.

“Okay. Is that all or what?” Blix asked, her nose twinging as the police set the bodies on fires.

“We have several more locations to clear. Hope you didn’t make plans today,” Stechner said with a roll of his eyes.

It was several hours before they were done. The guys left to return to Bogota and her to Cali. She was annoyed. She was covered in dirt, sweat, and blood. She was starving and desperately wanted to stop somewhere but she looked like she had been in a horror movie.

She stepped off the helicopter, making her way to the front of the airport. When she arrived, she blinked in surprise when Navegante was standing there.

“ _Why are you here?”_ She asked as she made her way to him.

“ _Need you at the party. It’ll be explained when you get there,”_ He simply stated.

She blinked confused but got in the car. He drove her not to Pacho’s but to one of Gilberto’s home. She stepped out, waiting as Diego came up to her.

“ _Diego. What is going on? I am disgusting and tired and starving. Why am I here?”_ She asked with a heavy sigh.

“ _So, you know that they had that party? Well… we had some party crashers… in the form of the Salvadors,”_ He explained. “ _Pacho… hasn’t reacted well. He… he broke a glass and badly cut his hand. Refuses to get it properly treated.”_

“ _Okay. What am I supposed to do about this?”_ She asked concerned but still confused.

“ _He… he listens to you. He refuses to listen to the rest of us but you… he would do anything for. Plus… with the way you currently look, I figured you could also scare off the Salvadors?”_ Diego confessed.

“ _Oh, with my Carrie at Prom look? Ya think that’ll scare them?”_ She lightly joked.

Diego laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. Blix sighed once more adjusting her gear that was on her shoulders.

“ _Lead me to him,”_ She ordered softly.

Diego sighed in relief and motioned her forward. Diego led her through the house, and out back to the party. The partygoers all around went silent as they strolled past. She made a request for someone to get a towel and a bottle of water as she was led to tables set off to the side. She could see Gilberto and them, alongside Amado and others.

She moved to stand in front of Pacho, who was sitting down with a frown etched on his face.

She sat her bag down on the ground and leaned her rifle against the table. She pulled off her gloves and setting them and her sunglasses on the table. She unholstered her handgun, wanting to take off some extra weight setting it down on the table as well.

“ _Give me your hand,”_ She demanded holding her hand out to him.

He stared at her surprised but then his eyes fell away from her and he shook his head.

“ _I am fine,”_ He muttered stubbornly.

“ _You can either willingly give me your hand for me to treat it or I can knock you out and do it anyway,”_ Blix asserted giving him a hard stare.

He stared at her, before slowly giving her his hand. She looked at the crude bandage that was wrapped around his palm; it was barely hanging on and had turned a dark red.

Diego appeared with a towel and a bottle of water. He set the water down and handed the towel to her.

“ _Is my Carrie at Prom look too much now?”_ She asked looking at him.

Diego nodded motioning with his hand ‘a little bit.’

Blix used the towel to wipe off her face, rubbing at it haphazardly. Diego took the towel from her shaking his head. He then gently wiped at the spots she missed.

He set it down once he was done.

She turned her attention back to Pacho. She reached into her duffel bag, grabbing a first aid kit, and a bottle of a clear liquid.

“ _Why did you have me get water when you had some?”_ Diego asked confused.

“ _It’s not water,”_ Blix said simply.

She pulled out her pocketknife, cutting off the bandage, slowly pealing it away. She put her knife away pulling out her small flashlight. She inspected the wound, noticing some small slivers of glass. She gently plucked them out.

Putting her flashlight away, she looked at him and asked, “ _Out of curiosity… what’s your pain tolerance?”_

 _“Pretty high why?”_ Pacho was suspicious.

She unscrewed the cap to the mystery liquid, and casually poured some into the wound.

He sucked in a deep breath, wincing.

“ _What the hell is that?”_ He asked, holding his wrist.

“ _A little bit of this and that. It’s a super cleanser is all you need to know,”_ Blix explained grabbing the water, to clean it out further.

“ _Is this revenge for the overprotectiveness?”_ He asked her.

She hummed in response as she patted it dry and pulled out a needle and thread. She quietly stitched the wound, making the stitches precise. Once she was done, she taped some gauze down to protect it.

“ _You going to tell me what happened or nah,”_ She wondered, cleaning up her mess.

“ _It’s not important,”_ Pacho said, but his eyes hardened as he spotted something beyond her.

She turned her head, trying to follow his line of vision. She spotted two men, walking past.

She whistled loudly, connecting the dots, “ _Hey. You two! Salvadors right?”_

The two men diverted their path to stand in front of her. They nodded, moving to speak.

“ _No. No. That wasn’t an invitation to speak further,”_ She stopped them. “ _Tell me something… are you two high or just plain stupid?”_

They stared at her appalled, stuttering at that.

“ _You see… I’m inclined to believe the former. Because the amount of disrespect you 2 are showing is so damn high, you might as well be riding bitch with Amado,”_ She said pointing at the man who was chuckling.

“ _Cause… the thing is… Pacho here. He won’t say anything to you. Not because he respects or fears you. No. he won’t say anything because of his undying loyalty to those two men there,”_ She motioned toward Gilberto and Miguel. “ _Honestly. You should be thanking them. Because they are the only reason why you 2 are still alive. But I assure you, the moment, the second, they let him off his leash, what he will do to you and your family will be fucking diabolical. Absolutely biblical. And I only hope I’ll be there to see it.”_

She leaned against the table at that point.

“ _Until such a time, you’ll be dealing with me,”_ She began but stopped when she heard them laugh.

“ _I’m sorry? Did I say something funny? Chepe? Did it sound like I was making a joke just now?”_ She asked him, tilting her head curiously.

“ _Nope,”_ He answered watching with amusement.

“ _You see… that should worry you. Scare you even. Because my loyalty doesn’t belong to them,”_ She motioned over to the brothers. “ _My loyalty belongs to this tall drink of water.”_ She turned to look at Pacho with a smirk.

“ _So. I’m going to ask you this once. Very kindly. Leave. No harm no foul. Just walk away,”_ She offered politely.

She heard one of them mutter something that sounded a lot like “dumb whore.”

She sighed, nodding her head. She stood up, moving toward them. She threw out a punch hitting the taller one in the face, before doing a spin kick, knocking him back. The other brother charged at her, and she dodged it with a twirl. She pulled out her retractable baton, flicking it out aggressively.

She swung it at his face and kicked him into the table. The other brother came up wrapping his arms around her waist trying to pin them. She slammed her foot down onto his, and when he let go, she rammed her elbow back hitting him hard. He dropped to a knee groaning. She did a roundhouse kick to his face, knocking him down.

She turned her attention back to the other, noticing he was trying to reach for her gun. She walked over to him and pulled out her serrated blade from her boot. She slammed down into his palms, pinning them down.

“ _Don’t move princess,”_ She tells him walking over to the other brother who was trying to get up.

She quietly repocketed her baton, moving to squat down next to him.

“ _Did you know… that it doesn’t much effort… to snap a man’s neck? Simple placement of the hands and the proper amount of torque and snap. If you move before I tell you to, I will break your neck,”_ She informed him unamused.

He nodded once, not moving anymore. She wandered back over to the second brother, hopping up on the table. She swung her leg around, essentially positioning his pinned hands in between her legs. She leaned back into Pacho who was directly behind her.

The man was quietly pleading with her.

“ _Hm. I quite like you begging. So much more respectful than you were 5 minutes ago,”_ She stated darkly.

She straightened up a sigh.

“ _Pay attention. You now have 2 options. Door number 1, I take this knife out, you and your shitbag brother leave. You do not make contact unless the brothers do so first. The key to this option, is you both leave here… ALIVE,”_ She explained.

“ _Door number 2… you continue to irritate and vex me with your presence… and I’ll make sure you need a **closed casket** ,”_ She said the last words roughly.

“ _Which one do you choose?”_ She asked brightly.

“ _Option 1. Please,” He begged._

 _“Thought you would choose that one. Shocking,”_ She mocked pulling the knife out.

 _“Get out of my sight… before my mercy runs out,”_ She whispered to him.

The man before her scrambled to get away, grabbing his brother as they ran for the hills. She hopped off the table, brushing herself off. She quietly placed her stuff into her bag, making sure everything was in it.

She faced Pacho, planting her hands down.

“ _Anything else I can do for you…. Don Pacho?”_ She said in a teasing tone.

His eyes darkened at that, and he made a come-hither motion with his hand. She leaned forward, and he grabbed her chin to press a firm kiss to her lips. She laughed against his lips, kissing back. She pulled away, shaking her head.

“Ohno,” She whispered.

Marta and the wives were coming toward her.

“Save me,” She whispered again.

Pacho shook his head with a teasing smirk.

Marta took her hands, pulling her forward. Blix was dragged upstairs to one of the spare bedrooms where the wives made her shower, and then turned her into their own personal doll.

They curled her hair, did her makeup, pulled out a dress and shoes for her to wear, alongside some lacey underwear.

She rolled her eyes out at them but put them on along with the dress. She had her shark necklace on, that she had to clean.

She looked around the room noticing her gear was nowhere to be found. She made her way downstairs once she was ready, stopping for a moment on the balcony to look out over the party.

“ _Your gear is in my office, just in case you were concerned,”_ Came Salcedo’s voice as he came to stand next to her.

“ _Thank you. It’s… interesting… how a couple of months can change a person,”_ She said with a small smile. “ _Couple months ago, I would’ve rather died than be at one of these parties. Now. I threatened 2 cartel members after kicking their asses.”_

“ _Indeed. But you care for each other greatly. Many here greatly respect you. Many also probably fear you now after that little display, but…”_ He lightly joked.

She giggled at that as she spotted Pacho in the crowd and told Salcedo she’d see him later.

She made her way over to him, standing in front of him with a smile. He smiled back, his eyes roving over her form.

“ _Have I been forgiven finally?”_ He asked her as he moved closer to her.

She quietly stepped closer, wrapping her arms his neck.

“ _Yes. I actually forgave you a long time ago. I just wanted you to suffer a little,”_ She admitted with a half shrug.

Pacho sighed, pulling her in close.

“ _You are a cruel mistress. Also. I hope you know… you’re not leaving my bed for the several days after that little performance earlier,”_ He revealed kissing her lips and along her jawline.

She laughed at him, as he led her around, and showed her off. A random man stepped up to her, presenting a plate full of food.

“ _Who are you?”_ She asked her mouthwatering.

“ _Name’s Maurice. Navegante said you were hungry,”_ He presents the plate to her.

She took it from him, along with the fork he had.

“ _Bless your face Navegante. Thank you, Maurice_ ,” She said digging in.

Amado who had been talking with them, watched with amusement.

“ _Hm. A woman who can kick ass and has a good appetite? Marry me?”_ He asked half serious.

 _“You’d have to get in line,”_ She said with a smile pausing in her eating.

The rest of the evening she spent time with everyone and enjoyed their company. The party made her feel more relaxed, and she felt semi-normal again. She kept close to Pacho, who also kept an arm around her; neither of them wanting to leave each other’s presence.


End file.
